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COUNTESS  EMILY  PLATER, 

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CBuA    I^^V"     ^tf^A^^^NAJNCzTi 


TRANSLATED  BY 


J.    K.    SALOMONSKI. 


A    POLISH    EXILE. 


NEW- YORK: 

JAMES  LINEN,  174  FULTON  STREET. 
1843. 


i 


Copy-right  secured  according  to  law. 


Jas.  p.  Wkic:it,  I'riiitcr, 
122  Fulton  St.,  N.  Y. 


PATRONS    TO    THIS    WORK 


JOHN  TYLER,  President  of  I  he  United  Slates. 
MARTIN  VAN  BUREN,  Ex- President. 
Hon.  DANIEL  WEBSTER,   Secretary  of  Stale. 

HENRY  CLAY, 

N.  P.  TALLMADGE, 

JAMES  BUCHANAN, 

THOMAS  EWING, 

JOHN  BELL, 

GEORGE  E.  BADGER, 

FRANCIS  GRANGER, 

M.  AD.  DE  BACOURT,   Envoy  Extraordinary  and 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  France. 


Hon.  M.  ST.  C.  CLARKE, 

"  R.  N.  JOHNSTON, 
"  BEN  J.  B.FRENCH, 
"  JOHN  S.  MEEHAN, 
"  JOHN  B.  AYCRIGG, 
"  ROBT  McCLELLAN, 
"  CHAS.  J.  INGERSOLL, 
'■■  AARON  WARD, 
RICHARD  D.  DAVIS, 


Col.  A.  S.  PLEASONTON, 
"  C.  C   BIDDLE, 
"  E.  S.  BURD, 
"  J.  WATSON  WEBB, 
Major  DANIEL  KEIM, 
Capt.  M.  BOLHEN, 
Hon.  H.  BENNEY, 
G   W.  BARTON,  Esq  , 
N.  BIDDLE,  Esq., 
WM  COST  JOHNSON.  CHARLES  PICOT,  Consul, 
"  ALBERT  GALLATIN, ICHARLES  KING,  Esq 
"  ROBERT  H.  MORRIS,  iO.  F.  JOHNSON,  E^q , 

Dr.  A.  JORDAN, 

D.'.  J.  P.  BEEKMAN. 
iDr.  R.  G  FRARY. 
iDr.  M.  DONNOVAN, 


C.  B.  ZABRIESKIE, 
PETER  FORCE, 
W.  W.  SEATON, 
J.  R.  INGERSOLL 


"  JUSTUS  McKIN^STRY.NlCH'S  SNIDER,  Esq., 
Gen.  JAMES  FLEMING,        Rev.  WARD  STAFFORD. 


JOHN  P  VAN  NESS, 
"  R.  PATTERSON, 
Com.  JAMES  BIDDLE, 


WM.  MATTHEWS, 
H   MYERSf 
ISAAC  LEESER. 


* 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Page 

Reflections.— Origin  of  the  Plater  family.— Birth  of 
Emily 13 

CHAPTER    II. 

Madame  Lieberg. — Residence  of  Emily  at  Lixna. — 
Her  character 21 

CHAPTERIII. 

Association  of  the  students  of  Wilna, — Their  object. 
— Persecution  of  the  Lithuanian  youth. — Nowo- 
siltzoff  and  PeUkan. — Condemnation 41 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Projects  of  marriage. — The  Russian  General  K****. 
—Capt.  Baron  D**** 57 

CHAPTER   V. 

Travels  of  Emily  in  Poland      ........     70 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Death  of  the  mother  of  Emily. — Her  filial  piety. — 
She  seeks  a  reconciliation  with  her  father. — Her 
character,  as  delineated  by  her  cousin,  Mademoi- 
selle  D**** 97 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Summary  of  Polish  events.— Revolution  of  the  29th 
of  ]\o\-ember Ill 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VII  I. 

Page 
Impression  produced  in  Lithuania  by  the  news  of 
the  revolution  of  Warsaw. — Fears  of  the  Russian 
government. — The  managing  committee       ..    .     137 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Relations  of  Emily  Plater  with  the  young  Russians 
of  the  military  school  of  Diinabourg. — She  raises 
the  people  and  marches  upon  that  city. — Her  first 
victory 161 

CHAPTER    X. 

Battle  near  Diinabourg. — Emily  joins  the  corps  of 
Charles  Zaluski. — She  enrols  herself  among  the 
free    chasseurs    of   Wilcomir. — Affair  of  Przys- 
towiany 178 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Return  of  the  insurgents  to  Wilcomir.— Mary  Ra- 
szanowicz  and  Emily  Plater. — They  pass  to  tJie 
corps  of  Conetantine  Parczevvski. — Sad  position 
of  the  insurgents 195 

CHAPTER    XII. 

The  Polish  troops  enter  Lithuania. — Chlapowski 
and  Gielgud. — Emily  Plater  appointed  Captain 
in  the  twenty-fifth  of  the  line. — 13attle  of  Kowno     206 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Battle  of  Srhawle  and  Schawlany. — The  Polish 
army  is  divided  into  three  corps. — Emily  joins  that 
of  Gen.  Chlapowski,  and  leaves  it  on  its  entering 
Prussia. — She  wishes  to  pass  into  Poland     .     .     233 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

Emily  is  overcome  by  fatigue  in  the  midst  of  her 
march. — She  is  taken  sick. — Her  suOerings.— Her 
death.— Iler  character.- Conclusion      ....     249 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE, 


Among  the  many  instances  of  devotedness  anil 
patriotism  which  the  late  Polish  revolution  has  af- 
forded us,  that  of  Emily  Plater  occupies  the  first 
rank.  Her  name  excites  a  thrill  of  emotion  in 
every  heart  which  is  not  insensible  to  feelings  of 
honor  and  patriotism.  Every  one  has  heard  of 
Emily  Plater's  serving  as  a  soldier  in  the  national 
cause,  and  of  her  dying,  while  yet  in  the  prime  of 
life,  in  the  service  of  her  country. 

But  the  particulars  of  a  life  so  beautiful  and  so 
romantic  have  as  yet  been  w'anting  to  us.  Con- 
nected with  the  Countess  Plater  by  old  family  ties, 
proprietor  of  an  estate  in  the  neighborhood  of  her 


10  author's  preface. 

own,  and  her  companion  in  arms  on  the  plains  of 
Lithuania,  t  have  followed  the  heroine  through  her 
whole  career,  have  been  made  the  confident  of  her 
thoughts,  and  have  shared  in  her  dangers.  Her 
whole  life  is  well  known  to  me.  I  have  seen  Emily, 
in  her  earliest  youth,  fondly  muse  upon  the  glory 
of  Poland  as  others  would  upon  a  lover ;  and  cher- 
ish the  remembrances  connected  with  our  ancient 
nationality  until  they  became  almost  the  objects  of 
her  idolatry.  I  have  seen  the  young  girl  grow  up, 
and  with  her  these  noble  recollections.  It  was  no 
difficult  thing  to  foresee  that,  when  the  clarion  of 
battle  should  sound,  Emily  would  join  the  ranks  as 
a  soldier,  and  wield  the  lance. 

Her  military  companions  were  mine,  and  I  have 
been  present  at  the  same  dangers.  Later,  when 
proscribed  and  cast  on  the  Prussian  soil,  I  was  com- 
pelled to  seek  an  asylum  in  France,  I  lost  sight  of 
her.  Then,  overcome  by  her  long  continued  fa- 
tigues, she  was  approaching  her  end.  At  the  early 
age  of  twenty-six  she  paid  the  forfeit  to  which  the 


author's  preface.  11 

dreams  of  her  ardent  and  almost  supernatural  en- 
thusiasm had  exposed  her.  But  the  particulars  of 
her  death  have  reached  me.  I  have  received  letters 
dated  from  her  sick  chamber,  and  I  have  personally 
questioned  those  who  closed  her  eyes. 

I  am  thus  in  possession  of  all  the  materials  re- 
quisite for  the  biographical  sketch  of  the  heroine, 
which  I  propose  as  an  offering  to  her  admirers,  in 
order  that  she  may  be  the  more  beloved  as  she  be- 
comes more  extensively  known.  Besides,  it  is  quite 
time  that  a  correct  version  should  supersede  and 
rectify  the  multitude  of  fabulous  accounts,  which, 
until  this  time,  have  fed  European  credulity. 

My  first  intention  was  to  insert  these  remarks  in 
my  work  entitled,  "  The  Polish  men  and  women  of 
the  revolution  of  29th  November,  1830,  &c.,"  but, 
already  overwhelmed  with  materials,  I  deemed  it  best 
to  publish  this  biography  separately. 

The  article  under  the  title  of  The  Countess  Pla- 
ter, in  my  biographical  work,  will  be  a  summary  of 


12  author's  preface. 

the  present  biography  which  I  am  now  about  to 
offer  to  the  public  ;  for  this  volume  will  contain  all, 
even  the  most  minute  details,  of  her  short,  but  glo- 
rious life. 

May  my  ability  prove  adequate  to  the  task 
which  I  have  assumed,  as  a  faithful  narrator  of  all 
that  is  noble  and  generous  in  the  valiant  heart  of 
woman. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Reflections. — Origin  of  the  Plater  family. — Birth  of 

Emily. 

"  CiRcuxMSTANCES  do  iiot  make  men," 
says  a  celebrated  writer,  "  but  serve  to 
develop  them."  With  man  is  born  the 
seed  of  his  future  being — of  his  virtues  and 
of  his  vices,  of  his  greatness  and  of  his 
crimes.  If  propensities  to  evil  are  born 
with  him,  his  life  will  develop  and  bring 
into  activity  that  germ  of  evil  which  lay 
dormant  in  the  recesses  of  his  heart.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  dispositions  to  the  good 
and  to  the  sublime  in  action  are  innate 
with  him,  his  life  will  be  great  and  good. 
Still  his  future  will  always  owe  much  to 
events,  and  these  alone  will  prove  what  he 
is,  or,  at  least,  what  he  appears  to  be. 
Every  political  crisis,  every  political  com- 
motion, has  been  the  means  of  producing 

2 


14  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

someof  these  vigorous  minds,  who,  thirsting 
for  fame,  wai  tonly  for  the  signal,  an  oppor- 
tunity to  rush  forward,  seize  the  command 
and  direction  of  popular  movements,  and 
become  the  head  and  soul,  the  tyrant  or 
the  protector,  the  destroyer  or  the  bene- 
factor. 

Such  men  are  not  the  real  causes  of 
the  events  which  bring  them  forward  into 
notice.  These  events  are  sometimes  the 
effects  of  pure  chance,  but  much  oftener  of 
necessity.  They  are  inevitable,  because 
consequent  on  the  progress  of  the  society 
in  which  they  shine  forth.  It  is  at  such 
times  the  passions  ferment, — ambition,  the 
desire  of  advancement,  occupies  the  soul, 
and  he  who  is  inspired  with  lofty  senti- 
ments, and  with  ideas  at  once  noble  and 
useful,  and  which  respond  to  the  wants  of 
the  epoch,  is  soon  borne  onward  to  his  pro- 
per place,  the  head  of  the  multitude. 

How  pleasing  to  follow,  step  by  step,  the 
career  of  such  beings  ;  to  trace  their  noble 
and  devoted  lives,  and  to  propose  them  as 


EMILY    PLATER.  15 

models  for  the  rising  generations  of  op- 
pressed nations ! 

Generally  obscure  in  their  origin,  and 
coming  forth  from  the  bosom  of  the  people 
— a  suffering  people,  and  one  which  is 
awakened  to  the  anticipation  of  a  happier 
future,  the  progress  of  such  men  is  gradual. 
They  elevate  themselves  by  degrees  above 
the  multitude  with  which,  for  a  time,  they 
are  confounded,  and  of  which  they  finally 
become  the  leaders.  They  are  thought 
embodied,  the  exponent  of  the  movement; 
they  defend  a  nation's  rights,  vindicate  and 
secure  its  future  peace.  Apostles  of  liberty, 
they  preach  by  speech  or  by  the  sword, 
and  nations  gather  around  them,  listen  to 
them  with  respect,  and  follow  them  as 
priests  and  kings.  Sometimes,  too,  they 
fall  in  their  dangerous  career.  Betrayed  by 
circumstances,  they  leave  in  a  state  of  in- 
completeness, or  of  entire  ruin,  the  work 
which  they  have  undertaken.  They  moist- 
en with  their  blood  the  land  which  they 
would  deliver,  and  while  cursed  by  the  con- 


16  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

queror,  who  brands  them  with  the  names 
of  robber  and  rebel,  they  are  invoked  as 
martyrs  by  the  oppressed.  Martyrs  in  the 
cause  of  liberty,  they  merit,  too,  palms  and 
crowns ;  for  it  should  not  be  imputed  to 
them  as  a  fault  that  victory  has  not  crown- 
ed their  efforts — fortune,  not  courage,  has 
failed  them.  The  remembrance  of  these 
glorious  men,  and  the  recital  of  their  ex- 
ploits, are  long  the  consolation  of  the  van- 
quished. Under  the  tent,  and  around  the 
fireside,  their  history  is  again  and  again 
recounted,  and  their  heroic  actions,  deeply 
cherished,  will,  at  some  future  day,  give 
birth  to  new  heroes,  who  will  follow  in 
their  footsteps,  and  under  the  guidance  of 
a  more  propitious  fortune,  will  perhaps 
accomplish  the  great  work  in  whose  cause 
their  predecessors  sacrificed  their  lives. 

What  nation  has  suffered  more  than  the 
Poles,  in  the  effort  to  maintain  their  rights 
and  independence?  What  nation,  within 
the  space  of  half  a  century,  has  made  fiercer 
struggles  or  shed  more  blood  upon  their 


EMILY    PLATER.  17 

native  soil  1  There  is  not  a  city,  nor  a 
hamlet  in  the  land,  ■which  has  not  wit- 
nessed great  deeds,  and  there  is  not  a  fur- 
row which  has  not  been  fertilized  by  the 
blood  of  illustrious  victims. 

It  is  for  history  to  record  the  names  of 
these  champions  of  the  freedom  of  a  great 
people — religiously  to  preserve  the  mem- 
ory of  their  deeds,  and  to  transmit  them  to 
an  inquisitive  and  admiring  posterity,  of  all 
that  is  great  and  generous  inhuman  action. 

We  propose  to  trace  the  life  of  one  of 
the  thousand  heroes  that  Poland  has  pro- 
duced, in  her  struggles  against  slavery  and 
cruelty.  It  is  the  life  of  a  woman  that  we 
propose  to  recount,  but  of  a  woman  who, 
in  courage  and  patriotism,  has  never  been 
surpassed,  even  by  man.  This  woman  is 
Emily  Plater- — a  heroine,  if  ever  a  woman 
existed  worthy  of  the  name.  Who  has 
not  heard  of  this  glorious  name?  What 
heart  has  not  glowed  with  admiration  at 
the  recital  of  the  exploits  of  this  young 
Polish  female? 

2* 


18  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

The  family  of  Emily  Plater,  one  of  the 
most  extensive  and  well  known  in  Poland, 
derives  its  origin  from  Westphalia,  in  Ger- 
many. At  the  commencement  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  when  the  Christian 
world  was  engaged  in  spreading  far  and 
wide  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  one  of 
the  family  of  the  Platers  passed  over  into 
Livonia,  as  knight  of  the  order  of  sword- 
bearerSj  in  order  to  convert  to  Christianity 
the  idolatrous  inhabitants.  From  that  time 
the  name  of  Plater  frequently  occurs  in  the 
annals  of  that  country,  and  they  have  en- 
joyed that  influence  in  it  which  the  two- 
fold advantage  of  immense  wealth,  and  a 
nobility  whose  origin  mounts  up  to  a  re- 
mote antiquity,  can  confer.  The  order  of 
sword-bearers, — sometimes  the  ally,  at 
others  the  enemv  of  Poland, — at  last  claim- 
ed  the  protection  of  this  country  against 
the  cruel  Ivan  Vassilievitsch,  tzar  of  Mos- 
cow, who  was  ravaging  Livonia.  In  1561, 
Gothard  Kettler,  the  grand  master  of  the 
order,  did  homage  and  swore  allegiance  to 


EMILY    PLATER.  19 

Sigismond  Augustus,  king  of  Poland,  and 
Livonia  became  a  Polish  province.  In 
succeeding  times  the  Platers  proved,  by 
their  patriotism,  that  they  were  worthy  of 
bearing  the  name  of  Poles.  One  of  the 
family,  Sigismond,  covered  his  name  with 
glory  by  a  heroic  death,  in  defence  of  the 
city  of  Diinabourg,  against  the  Muscovites. 
As  a  reward  for  his  bravery  the  Republic 
gave  to  his  family  the  Staroste*  of  Diina- 
bourg, which  remained  in  the  possession  of 
the  Counts  Plater  until  1820,  when  they 
were  arbitrarily  deprived  of  it  by  the  Rus- 
sian government.  And  finally,  in  our  last 
struggle  against  despotism,  many  members 
of  this  family  distinguished  themselves  by 
their  devotedness  to  the  Polish  cause,  sac- 
rificing every  thing  to  the  freedom  and 
happiness  of  their  country.  If  they  were 
not  successful,  they  at  least  have  nothing 
to  reproach  themselves  with. 

But  the  person  who  has  shed  upon  this 

*  To  be  named  Staroste,  was  to  receive  for  life,  or  in 
perpetuity,  a  fief  of  the  crown. 


20  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

family  the  brightest  ray  of  glory,  is,  with- 
out question,  Emily  Plater,  whose  history 
we  are  now  about  to  commence. 

She  was  born  at  Wilna,  on  the  13th 
Nov.  1806.  Her  father,  Count  Xavier 
Plater,  married  in  18 — ,  the  Countess 
Anna  de  Mohl,  a  young  heiress,  possess- 
ing, in  an  eminent  degree,  all  that  can 
render  a  woman  distinguished  in  society  or 
in  the  domestic  circle.  Gentle,  well  edu- 
cated, virtuous  and  affectionate,  she  sought 
nothing  but  the  happiness  and  the  affection 
of  those  who  surrounded  her.  Unfortu- 
nately, she  did  not  meet,  in  her  husband, 
with  that  peace  and  felicity  to  which  she 
was  so  justly  entitled.  She  was  obliged 
to  separate  from  him,  and  retire,  in  1815, 
into  Livonia,  to  the  residence  of  a  distant 
relative,  taking  with  her  her  daughter, 
who  from  that  epoch  became  her  sole 
source  of  consolation,  and  to  the  education 
of  whom  she  devoted  her  whole  time. 


EMILY    PLATER.  21 


CHAPTER    II. 

Madame  Lieberg — Residence   of  Emily  at  Lixua — Her 

character. 

Madame  Lieberg  (for  this  was  the  name 
of  the  relative  to  whom  Emily's  mother 
retired)  was  the  widow  of  a  late  cham- 
berlain of  Livonia.  She  was  already  ad- 
vanced in  age,  without  children,  and  in 
possession  of  a  very  ample  fortune,  which 
she  employed  chiefly  in  doing  good.  The 
poor  never  left  her  door  without  succor, 
and  never  did  a  friend  in  need  seek  her  aid 
in  vain.  Respected  by  her  family,  of 
whom  she  was  almost  the  head,  the  oracle 
of  her  neighbors,  who  cherished  in  her  the 
benefactress  of  the  district,  a  mother  to  her 
tenantry,  whose  children  she  educated,  she 
enjoyed  universal  esteem. 

The  mother  of  Emily  was  received  by 
her  kinswoman  with  that  lively  interest 


22  LIFE    OP    THE    COUNTESS 

with  which  the  sight  of  unmerited  misfor- 
tune always  inspires  a  benevolent  heart. 
Possessing  in  a  high  degree  all  that  is 
pleasing  in  a  child — simplicity,  candor,  a 
sweet  and  affable  temper  and  an  ingenu- 
ous mind — the  young  Emily  soon  gained 
the  heart  of  her  old  relative,  who  loved 
her  as  her  own  child.  The  domain  of 
Madame  Lieberg  is  situated  in  the  Polish 
Livonia,  which,  since  the  invasion  of  Po- 
land by  the  Tzarina  Catharine,  has  con- 
stituted a  part  of  the  government  of 
Witebsk.  The  residence  of  a  wealthy  in- 
dividual, Lixna,  with  all  its  rural  edifices 
anddependencies,'presents  the  appearance 
of  a  great  castle.  It  is  situated  upon  a  hill, 
near  the  bank  of  a  small  stream  flowing 
into  the  Dzwina,  whose  majestic  course 
may  be  descried  at  a  great  distance.  The 
situation  itself  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
that  can  be  imagined.  In  the  immediate 
vicinity  every  thing  is  gay,  lively  and 
smiling,  and  the  eye  is  deeply  gratilied.  But 
on  the  right,  there  extends  a  vast  forest  of 


EMILY   PLATER.  23 

black  fir,  whose  sombre  shade,  brought 
into  immediate  contrast  with  the  scene 
just  described,  serves  as  a  sort  of  finish  to 
the  beauty  of  the  landscape. 

The  interior  of  this  stately  mansion,  the 
residence  of  its  proprietor,  involuntarily 
transports  us  to  former  times.  Every  thing 
in  it  bears  the  impress  of  a  simple  and  se- 
vere, but  foreign  and  antique  taste.  There 
you  will  find,  still  existing,  the  eighteenth 
century  with  its  pretensions,  its  odd  deco- 
rations, and  'its  artificial  character.  The 
principal  edifice  is  built  in  a  style  which 
defies  description.  It  is  not  surrounded 
with  deep  trenches,  neither  is  the  access  to 
it  through  a  heavy  and  unwieldy  draw- 
bridge ;  but  it  is,  even  to  this  day,  inclosed 
by  a  long  and  massive  wall;  and  turrets, 
inoflfensive  indeed,  occupy  each  of  its  cor- 
ners. It  is  no  longer  a  feudal  castle,  and 
it  is  as  far  from  being  a  modern  palace.  It 
is  the  architecture  of  our  own  times  inter- 
mingled with  that  of  the  middle  ages — the 
eighteenth  century  wedded  to  the  fifteenth. 


24 


LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 


It  is  surrounded  by  a  vast  garden,  or  rather 
immense  park,  where  gracefulness  and  the 
pleasing  simplicity  of  nature  are  sought 
for  in  vain.  In  it  almost  every  thing  is 
spoiled  by  art;  it  is,  in  fine,  the  old  French 
garden,  w"ith  its  symmetrical  espaliers,  its 
vralks  and  plots  geometrically  laid  out, 
and  trees  fantastically  trimmed  in  confor- 
mity with  every  possible  shape  but  that  of 
nature.  At  one  of  the  extremities  is  a 
labyrinth — rather  a  frigid  imitation  of  an 
English  park — whose  paths  are  carefully 
laid  out,  which,  crossing  each  other,  di- 
verging and  shooting  in  a  thousand  differ- 
ent ways  in  the  most  perplexing  manner, 
serve  to  lead  astray  whoever  may  venture 
into  them.  In  one  word,  gardens,  build- 
ings, and  all  that  belongs  to  this  domain, 
even  to  the  servants  grown  old  in  the  ser- 
vice of  their  masters,  bear  in  their  anti- 
quity a  venerable  though  mournful  aspect. 
The  lady  of  the  manor,  who  has  taken 
care  to  preserve  ancient  customs,  has  not 
forgotten  the  frank  and  cordial  hospitality 


EMILY    PLATER.  25 

of  the  old  Polish  nobility,  and  that  polite- 
ness of  theirs  which  was  less  prodigal  of 
words  than  of  deeds. 

In  this  abode,  Emily  Plater  passed  the 
greater  part  of  her  brief  existence.  Here 
she  received  from  her  kinswoman  and 
mother  examples  of  private  virtues  the 
most  exalted. 

The  quiet  and  monotonous  life  of  the 
castle  increased  her  natural  propensity  to 
melancholy ;  and  the  antique  aspect  of  all 
that  surrounded  her,  stamped  her  charac- 
ter with  that  masculine  energy  which 
she  displayed  at  the  time  of  the  insurrec- 
tion. It  w^as  here  likewise  that  she  receiv- 
ed her  education. 

Emily,  from  her  earliest  years,  evinced 
tastes  of  a  very  different  character  from 
those  generally  displayed  by  young  per- 
sons of  her  age  and  sex.  The  doll  and  the 
other  playthings  of  children  never  afford- 
ed her  any  pleasure,  and  the  dance  for  her 
had  no  attractions ;  she  could  not  conceive, 
even,  how  it  could  be  a  source  of  pleasure 

3 


26  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

to  others.  The  soft  and  eflfeminate  music 
of  the  saloon  made  but  slight  impression 
upon  a  soul  which  required  emotions  of 
greater  strength  and  passion.  Drawing 
was  more  to  her  taste ;  but  it  was  in  nature 
that  she  sought  her  models,  and  not  in  pic- 
tures themselves,  the  copies  of  other  cop- 
ies. It  was  in  solitude,  under  the  open 
sky  and  in  the  depths  of  the  forest,  that 
she  sought  her  inspirations. 

Her  education  then  was  quite  unlike 
that  generally  received  by  persons  of  her 
sex.  She  required  that  which  would  nour- 
ish the  affections  of  the  heart — things  of 
a  serious  character,  and  not  senseless  tri- 
fles. As  soon  as  she  arrived  at  an  age  in 
which  she  was  at  liberty  to  direct  her  own 
studies,  she  entirely  threw  aside  every 
thing  which  belongs  to  a  young  girl,  and 
sought  occupations  more  befitting  her  cha- 
racter. 

The  study,  which  possessed  the  greatest 
attractions  for  her,  was  history.  She  loved 
to  see  the  ages,  which  are  passed,  move  in 


EMILY    PLATER.  27 

long  array,  with  their  attendant  virtues 
and  crimes,  before  her.  She  seemed  to 
herself  actually  to  take  part  in  the  great 
drama  of  the  human  race,  so  abundant 
in  intrigues  and  schemes  for  self-aggran- 
dizement. She  pursued  the  progressive 
march  of  opinions,  and  studied  men  as 
well  as  nations.  Her  heart  kindled  with 
admiration  for  all  that  was  great  and  no- 
ble. And  to  these  qualities,  what  nation 
in  the  world  could,  for  her,  possess  strong- 
er claims  than  Poland,  her  country,  the 
free,  the  faithful,  the  generous  Poland ; 
that  Poland  so  proud  of  its  freedom,  and 
which  was  already  civilized  when  the  rest 
of  Europe  was  scarcely  removed  from  a 
state  of  barbarism ;  which  was  free  when 
all  other  nations  were  enslaved ;  the  firm  i 
barrier  against  the  encroachments  of  Islam-"^ 
ism,  and  which  was  always  brave,  and 
prepared  to  succor  the  oppressed,  even 
without  hope  of  reward ;  a  country  which 
fell,  at  last,  a  victim  to  the  ingratitude  of 
its  neighbors,  of  which  the  one  owed  to  her 


VV'   i'-^^^ 


28  LIFE    OF    THE     COUNTESS 

its  existence,  and  the  other  its  preserva- 
tion ;  a  country,  in  fine,  which,  even  in  its 
fall,  has  forced  from  the  rest  of  the  world 
the  mingled  feelings  of  admiration  and  re- 
gret. 

Emily  Plater  read  the  annals  of  this 
heroic  nation,  whose  pages  are  replete 
with  those  precepts  of  devotedness  and  ex- 
amples of  sacrifices,  which  the  country  ex- 
pects from  her  children  in  thues  of  danger. 
These,  with  the  hloody  record  of  the  mas- 
sacres of  Praga,  produced  in  her  heart  a 
just  hatred  against  her  country's  oppres- 
sors, whose  iniquitous  government  was  by 
no  means  calculated  to  conciliate  the  good 
will  of  a  people  conquered  and  kept  in 
submission  by  force  of  arms. 

In  Poland,  female  education  is  deemed 
of  more  serious  importance  than  in  other 
countries.  Females  learn  that  they  are 
children  of  Poland  before  they  learn  that 
they  are  women.  Their  education  is  emi- 
nently patriotic,  and  perhaps  more  national 
than  that  bestowed  upon  the  men.     Thei 


EMILY    PLATER.  29 

understandings  are  formed  with  a  view  to 
future  usefulness  to  their  country. 

If  we  trace  back  our  history  to  its 
source,  we  shall  find  a  Wanda  sacrificing 
her  life  for  the  country.  Although  perhaps  a 
fabulous  personage,  yet  she  has  been  to  our 
Polish  heroines  the  model  of  their  adoption, 
and  they  scrupulously  follow  her  example. 

We  learn,  from  our  old  traditions,  that 
no  woman  could  aspire  to  matrimony  un- 
til she  had  imbrued  her  hand  in  the  blood 
of  her  nation's  foreign  oppressors.  Evi- 
dence of  this  is  transmitted  to  us  by  our 
writers.  The  learned  author  of  "  Women, 
their  condition  and  their  social  influence 
amonff  different  nations  both  ancient  and 
modern,"  says  :  "  The  Sarmatian  women 
ride  on  horseback,  and  accompany  their 
husbands  in  the  chase  and  in  their  expedi- 
tions ;  on  which  occasions  they  wear  the 
same  dress.  As.  to  matrimony,  no  one  can 
aspire  to  it  before  she  can  prove  that 
she  has  killed  an  enemy  with  her 
own    hand.       It     often     happens     that 

3* 


30  LIFE  OF  THE  COUNTESS 

they  attain  to  an  advanced  age  before  they 
are  married."  The  love  of  country,  and 
the  hatred  of  foreign  domination,  have  al- 
ways been  the  predominant  qualities  of  the 
ancient  Sarmatian  vromen. 

The  young  and  beautiful  Hedwige 
(1384—1399),  who  was  wholly  devoted  to 
the  happiness  of  Poland,  impatient  of  the 
Hungarian  yoke,  and  exasperated  by  the 
depredations  they  were  committing  in  the 
Russian  territories,  placed  herself  at  the 
head  of  an  army  and  drove  them  away. 
She  regained  possession,  by  storm  or  cap- 
itulation, of  Przemysl,  Jaroslaw,  Grodck, 
Halicz,  Trembowla  and  Leopol ;  and  while 
wuth  one  hand  she  wielded  the  sword,  with 
the  other  she  protected  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences, and  to  her  is  the  University  of  Cra- 
cow indebted  for  its  greatness  and  its 
celebrity. 

Among  the  females  who  have  swayed 
the  sceptre  of  Poland,  the  names  of  Hed- 
wige, of  Elizabeth,  and  of  Helena,  will 
forever  live  in  the  memory  of  man. 


EMILY    PLATER.  31 

When  the  immortal  Stephen  Czarniecki, 
the  saviour  of  Poland,  under  John  Casi- 
mir  (1556),  left  his  peaceful  home  to  g( 
against  the  Swedes,  his  daughter,  Alexau 
dra  Catharina  Czarniecka,  bitterly  wep 
that  her  tender  age  would  not  allow  he 
to  tight  by  the  side  of  her  father,  whose 
glory  and  danger  she  was  so  very  anxious 
to  share. 

The  mother  of  Henry  II.  duke  of  Bres- 
law,  in  putting  into  the  hands  of  her  son 
the  Polish  sabre,  which  he  was  to  use 
against  the  Tartars,  spoke  these  memor- 
able words  :  "  My  son,  if  you  wish  that  I 
should  not  disown  you,  run  to  the  defence 
of  our  dear  country." 

The  virtuous  Sobieska,  greeting  her 
sons  on  their  return  from  foreign  countries, 
pronounced  these  W'ords  :  "  It  is  with  un- 
speakable joy  I  see  you  again,  but  I  would 
disown  you  as  my  children,  were  you  to 
imitate  the  base  cowardice  of  those  who 
deserted  the  field  of  battle  near  Pilaw^ce." 

And  with  what  admiration  have  we  not 


32  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

contemplated  the  resolute  Chrianowska, 
whose  courage  saved  Trembowla(1674), 
which  her  unworthy  husband  wished  to 
surrender  to  the  Turks,  by  whom  it  was 
besieged ! 

The  princess  Radziwill  (1764)  was  al- 
ways found  by  the  side  of  her  brother,  the 
prince  Charles,  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
bloody  contests,  and  fought  as  bravely  as 
the  bravest  soldier ;  and  she  finally  select- 
ed for  her  husband,  him  who  had  been 
the  most  distinguished  in  battle. 

When,  in  the  year  1792,  the  infamous 
treason  of  Targowicahad  rendered  nuga- 
tory all  that  had  been  done  by  the  Polish 
patriots,  his  chief,  Stanislas  Felix  Potocki, 
who  had  sold  himself  to  the  Muscovites, 
had  the  audacity  to  write  a  congratulatory 
letter  to  his  aunt,  the  Countess  of  Kamie- 
niec,  on  the  advent  of  a  new  year,  the 
sublime  answer  she  made  him  is  such  as  no 
Polish  woman  will  ever  forget. 

"  Oh  thou,  whoever  thou  art  (for  I  deny 
thy  right  to  the  title  thou  hast  assumed), 


EMILY    PLATER.  33 

thou  who  hast  had  the  'audacity  to  raise 
thy  impious  arm  against  thy  country — 
thou,  who  through  an  unworthy  ambition 
of  showing  what  thou  wast  capable  of, 
hast  not  blushed  to  seek,  through  means  so 
iniquitous  and  shameful,  the  oppression  of 
thy  fellow  citizens,  tremble  I  *  *  *  *  * 
thou  art  the  sole  author  of  thy  own  misery, 
thou  hast  brought  upon  thyself  thy  own 
ruin — the  ignominy  and  shame  which  will 
overwhelm  thee — thou  hast  wrought  thy 
own  destruction.  Those  shots  which  thou 
hast  caused  to  be  cast  in  thy  own  furnace, 
shall  be  turned  against  thee.  That  steel, 
which  thy  parricidal  hand  hast  sharpened 
against  thy  country,  shall  be  plunged  to 
the  hilt  into  thy  own  bosom.  Thou  hast 
sought  thy  own  sordid  interest,  and  that 
of  thy  infamous  accomplice,  by  betraying 
an  innocent  people  to  oppression.  But  lis- 
ten to  what  Divine  Wisdom  has  in  store 
for  thee.  I  shall  confound  thy  counsels,  I 
shall  defeat  thy  sacrilegious  projects ;  I 
shall  cause  all  thy  plans  to  miscarry ;  thou 


34  LIFE   OF    THE    COUNTESS 

shalt  be  an  object  of  derision  and  of  pop- 
ular indignation — thou  shalt  lead  a  life  of 
wo,  forsaken  by  the  foreigner,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  dreadful  and  inevitable  ven- 
geance of  thy  own  country." 

And  the  accomplishment  of  this  dread- 
ful denunciation  is  now  matter  of  history.* 

The  dutchess  of  Wiirtemberg,  princess 
Czartoryska  by  birth,  separated  herself 
from  her  husband,  1792,  because  he  served 
in  the  army  of  the  enemies  of  Poland,  and 
some  time  afterwards  disowned  her  own 
son  for  the  same  cause. 

What  devotedness  did  not  those  admi- 
rable women  display  in  the  war  for  na- 
tional independence  in  1794,  under  Kos- 
ciuszko  !  When  the  news  of  the  Hero  of 
Poland  having  been  made  prisoner  on  the 
field  of  battle,  at  Macieiowice,  reached 
Warsaw,  it  caused  more  than  forty  mis- 
carriages ;    the  acuteness  of  this  national 

*  We  have  extracted  tliis  letter  from  the  precious  col- 
lection of  fragments   of   the    cotemporary    history   of 
Poland  by  Leonard  Chodzko. 


EMILY    PLATER.  35 

calamity  was  more  than  so  frail  an  organ- 
ization could  sustain. 

It  would  be  wandering  from  the  intend- 
ed limits  of  our  subject  were  we  to  speak 
here  of  the  patriotism  of  the  Polish  wo- 
men in  1806, 9, 12  and  13,  as  well  as  that 
previous  to  the  late  revolution  and  during 
its  continuance.  The  records  of  such 
facts  may  be  found  in  almost  every  page  of 
Poland's  history,  which  will  transmit  to 
posterity  the  names  of  those  remarkable 
women,  as  it  will  also  that  of  Emily 
Plater,  and  many  other  heroines,  who 
distinguished  themselves  in  the  late  strug- 
gle of  Poland  against  her  oppressors. 
Who  has  not  heard  of  the  patriotic  benev- 
olence of  Emily  Szczaniecka,  of  Cune- 
gonde  Oginska,  of  Claudine  Potocka,  and 
so  many  other  Polish,  Lithuanian  and  Rus- 
sian women  1  In  Poland,  courage  is  the 
delight  of  women,  and  devotedness  to  the 
state  is  as  common  among  them  as  it  is 
rare  among  other  nations. 

Towards  the  end  of  1820,  a  great  com- 


36  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

motion  took  place  among  the  enslaved  na- 
tions. Many  made  an  attempt  to  regain 
those  rights  of  which  they  had  been  de- 
prived, and  vindicate  that  liberty  whose 
inestimable  price  then  began  to  be  felt.  A 
shout  of  independence  was  heard  from 
the  shores  of  the  Eurotes  to  the  banks  of 
the  Orinoco — on  the  Olympus  and  on  the 
Cordilleras.  Sublime  and  electric  shock  ! 
which  roused  from  their  lethargy,  nations 
who  had  been  so  long  languishing  in  sla- 
very !  In  many  countries  this  burst  of 
enthusiasm  for  independence,  w^as  sup- 
pressed, and  whole  nations  relapsed  into 
those  fetters  they  had  endeavored  to 
break.  On  tlie  other  hand,  some  were 
more  fortunate,  and  with  more  persever- 
ance and  courage,  because  their  sufferings 
were  perhaps  more  intolerant,  left  the  field 
as  conquerors,  and  after  great  sacrifices,  as 
the  price  of  their  long  struggles,  restored 
freedom  to  their  country.  At  the  head  of 
these  is  the  ancient  nation  of  the  Hellenes, 
who  shook  off  the   heavy   yoke  of  the 


EMILY    PLATER.  37 

Turks  and  regained  their  nationality. — 
Emily  Plater,  whose  greatest  delight  was 
to  hear  the  shout  of  freedom,  ardently  es- 
poused the  Greek  cause.  She  shared  the 
general  enthusiasm  of  Europe  in  favor  of 
this  heroic  nation.  She  anxiously  follow- 
ed the  progress  of  their  insurrection,  and 
envied  the  destiny  of  the  heroine  of  Mis- 
solonghi.  "Men,"  said  she,  "  in  the  course 
of  their  duty,  can  but  challenge  death. 
Bobelina  goes  beyond — she  braves  public 
opinion  besides."- 

But  it  was  Joan  of  Arc  who  was  the 
principal  idol  of  her  enthusiasm.  Joan  of 
Arc,  that  inspired  virgin,  that  extraordi- 
nary woman  who  rescued  France  from  the 
grasp  of  its  enemies,  whose  invasion  had 
been  permitted  by  its  indolent  and  feeble 
monarch.  She  made  the  life  of  this  wo- 
man her  favorite  study.  She  sought  all 
the  works  of  those  days  which  had  any  re- 
ference to  this  event,  and  read  them  often. 
She  found  a  great  analogy  between  France 
under   English    oppression,   and    Poland 

4 


38  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

groaning  under  the  Russian  yoke.  Her 
closet  was  filled  with  engravings  repre- 
senting that  heroine  in  the  different  pha- 
ses of  her  life  ;  she  became  the  object  of  her 
veneration  as  well  as  the  subject  of  her 
dreams.  Envious  of  her  fame,  her  most 
ardent  wish  w^as  to  rival  her,  and  do  for 
Poland,  at  some  future  day,  that  which 
Joan  had  formerly  accomplished  for 
France.  This  was  her  whole  ambition. 
She  often  spoke  of  it ;  and  men,  in  their 
wisdom,  turned  into  ridicule  what  they 
were  pleased  to  term  her  foolish  extrava- 
gance ;  because  they  could  not  understand, 
nor  would  they  ever  have  understood  her, 
had  not  the  events  of  1830  kindled  the  fire 
of  patriotism  in  every  Polish  bosom. 

Emily  was  not  satisfied  wdth  the  ex- 
pression of  vain  wishes  only,  but  she  took 
the  necessary  measures  to  put  them  in  ex- 
ecution at  some  future  time.  Her  favo -ite 
amusements  and  ordinary  exercises  now 
consisted  in  riding  on  horseback,  shooting 
at  a  mark,  and  inuring  herself  to  the  rigors 


EMILY    PLATER,  39 

of  the  seasons  and  to  every  temperature. 
The  countess,  fearing  for  the  health  of  her 
daughter,  ;i  ttempted  at  first  to  put  a  stop 
to  this  kind  of  exercise ;  but  Emily,  by 
her  fond  caresses,  overcame  her  mother's 
fears,  and  finally  obtained  from  her  that 
consent  she   had   so   earnestly   solicited. 
From  that  time,  this  young  amazon  would 
be  seen  to  spring  into  the  saddle,  leap  over 
ditches,  dart  through  the  fields,  and  even 
penetrate  the  forest.    She  seemed  to  be  in- 
defatigable, and  nothing   could  stop  her. 
In  the  saloon   she   was   apparently  sad. 
pensive,  and   even   melancholy  ;  the   eti- 
quette  and   cold    formalities  of    society 
were  irksome  to  her,  and  seemed  to  send  a 
chill  into  her  ardent  soul.     But  mounted 
on  her  favorite  courser,  she  would  boldly 
wander  over  the  fields — practise  at  shoot- 
ing, brave  the   severity  of  the  elements, 
snow,  or  rain,  or  the  burning  heat  of  the 
sun ;  and  when   in   her  rides  it  became 
necessary  to  face  danger,  then  would  she 
display  the  whole  energy  of  her  charac- 
ter. 


40  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

It  was  thus  that  she  inured  and  pre- 
pared herself  for  the  great  day  of  battles, 
— that  day,  when,  in  answer  to  the  shout 
of  Warsaw  for  independence,  all  would 
rush  to  arms — that  day  she  so  ardently  de- 
sired, and  which  she  apparently  foresaw, 
although  nothing  had  as  yet  taken  place 
even  to  excite  a  suspicion  that  such  an 
event  was  so  near-  at  hand. 


EMILY    PLATER.  41 


CHAPTER   III. 

Association  of  the  students  of  Wilna.— Their  object- 
Persecution  of  the  [Lithuanian  youth. — Nowosiltzoff 
and  Pelikan. — Condemnation. 

In  the  mean  time  the  persecution  of 
the  Russian  government  reached  a  mem- 
ber of  the  family  of  our  heroine.  Her 
first  cousin,  Michael  Plater,  was  con- 
demned to  serve  in  the  Russian  army  in 
the  quality  of  a  private  soldier.  In  order 
to  explain  the  motives  of  this  outrageous 
sentence,  it  is  necessary  to  say  a  few 
words  on  the  subject  of  the  hostility 
of  the  pretended  conqueror  of  Napoleon 
against  the  Lithuanian  youth,  and  which 
he  carried  on  in  so  secret  a  manner  as  to 
escape  the  bservation  of  the  historians  of 
the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  al- 
though it  has  caused  the  misery  and  ruin 

of  a  whole  nation. 

4* 


42  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

Alexander,  the  pupil  of  Laharp,  was 
both  a  despot  and  a  philanthropist ;  of  an 
irresolute  character,  he,  for  a  considerable 
time,  wavered  between  the  principles  of 
his  tutor  and  that  policy  which  has  con- 
stantly governed  the  princes  of  his  dy- 
nasty. 

One  hand  he  extended  to  the  protec- 
tion of  literature,  while  he  employed  the 
other  ill  crushing  civilization.  Besides,  he 
reigned  at  a  time  when  the  crowned  heads 
of  Europe,  under  pretence  of  liberal 
principles,  were  doing  all  in  their  power  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  liberty,  as  well  as  ^ 

the  career  of  Napoleon,  whose  ostensible  ^j'H'"' 
cause  for  carrying  on  war  against  them 
was  the  affranchisement  of  nations.  It  was 
then  the  king  of  Prussia  promised  his  sub- 
jects a  constitutional  government ;  and 
even  Metternich  himself  ceased  to  get  in 
a  passion  at  the  mere  mention  or  name 
of  liberty,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  ex- 
tend his  protection  to  secret  associations. 

In  1815,  the  kings,  who  no  longer  had 


EMILY    PLATER.  43 

any  thing  to  fear  from  their  great  foe,  cast 
off  their  masks  and  formed,  what  they  were 
pleased  to  call,  their  Holy  Alliance  against 
the  Jacobins  and  demagogues  whom  they 
had  so  well  succeeded  in  cajoling.  It  was 
then  that  Alexander,  the  chief  of  this 
league,  came  to  a  final  decision  ;  the  lust 
of  despotism  prevailed  over  his  philan- 
thropy ;  he  even  regretted  the  little  good 
he  had  done  before,  and  from  this  moment 
began  the  demolition  of  his  own  work. 

The  events  of  1812  clearly  proved 
that  the  Polish  provinces  of  his  empire, 
conquered  but  not  subdued,  could  not  be 
retained  in  subjection,  except  by  main 
force,  and  that  the  desire  of  regaining 
their  former  independence  pervaded  every 
heart.  In  order  to  eradicate  this  nation- 
ality, which  was  imcompatible  with  liis 
own  views,  he  trampled  under  foot  all  his 
solemn  engagements — violated  the  laws  of 
the  country — proscribed  the  Polish  lan- 
guage, and  established  in  all  the  tribunals 
the  Russian  practice — an  object  of  gene- 


44  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

ral  detestation.  A  few  learned  publicists 
and  profound  historians  have  already  pass- 
ed their  judgments  upon  this  glaring  vio- 
lation of  a  charter  solemnly  granted,  and 
of  institutions  whose  maintenance  had 
been  sworn  to  before  the  whole  world. 
The  author  of  such  deeds  has  covered  him- 
self with  infamy  ;  the  tyrant  and  the  per- 
fidious can  never  escape  general  contempt 
and  hatred.  Such  a  triumph  as  his,  is 
worse  than  a  glorious  defeat. 

Nevertheless,  the  mighty  will  of  this 
despot  has  been  baffled  by  the  firmness  of 
the  national  spirit;  his  ukases  were  power- 
less, and  generally  evaded.  Prince  Czar- 
toryski,  chief  of  public  instruction  in  these 
provinces,  did  all  in  his  power  to  circum-GL'-^^^-^^^^^^^^ 
vent  and  defeat  all  his  obnoxious  designs, 
and  to  preserve  the  Polish  nationality. 
Even  his  enemy,  Nowosiltzoff,  has  been 
known  to  say  that  one  year  of  the  prince's 
administration  was  sufficient  to  neutralize 
the  efforts  of  ten  years  on  the  part  of  the 
Autocrat  and  his   spies   against   liberty, 


EMILY    PLATER.  45 

The  University  of  Wilna  was  a  nur- 
sery which  the  Polish  youth  never  quit- 
ted without  being  wholly  devoted  to  their 
country,  heart  and  soul.  Lelewell  was 
professor  of  history  there ;  his  extensive 
knowledge,  and  profound  researches  en- 
abled him  to  fill  that  chair  with  superior 
credit.  His  fame  and  eloquence  drew  a 
crowd  of  auditors  to  his  lectures,  to  which 
he  knew  how  to  impart  that  liberal  and 
patriotic  spirit  which  pervades  all  his  wri- 
tings, and  which  influenced  all  the  actions 
of  his  life.  He  always  ended  by  making 
these  young  men,  ardently  desirous  of 
knowledge  and  fame,  warm  patriots,  and 
devoted  friends  of  knowledge  and  indepen- 
dence. Thomas  Zan,  Adam  Mickiewicz, 
Leonard  Chodzko,  Michael  Wollowicz, 
and  some  other  distinguished  Polish  youth 
were  among  his  pupils. 

Although  the  spirit  of  opposition  per- 
vaded the  whole  nation,  yet  concert  of  ac- 
tion was  needed,  and  in  order  to  oppose 
the  scheme  of  government  with  some  hope 


46  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

of  success,  it  became  necessary  to  organ- 
ize a  corps,  or  association,  whose  members 
could  obtain  the  confidence  and  direction  of 
public  opinion.  Thomas  Zan  caught  hold 
of  this  idea,  and  immediately  put  it  in  exe- 
cution by  organizing  a  club  called  the  Rad- 
iants^ whose  objects  were  to  propagate 
knowledge,  maintain  the  use  of  their  ver- 
nacular tongue,  at  any  risk,  and  defend 
their  nationality  against  violence.  This 
association,  which  was  joined  by  most  of 
the  students  of  the  university,  gave  um- 
brage to  the  government,  who  began  their 
persecution  in  1821  by  the  issue  of  an 
ukase  for  its  dissolution. 

Zan  and  his  associates,  far  from  being 
discouraged  by  these  proceedings,  reunited 
a  second  time  under  the  name  of  Philaret/i- 
ians,  and  a  second  time  they  were  dispers- 
ed. They  again  rallied,  but  in  a  smaller 
number,  and  under  the  name  of  Philoma- 
tians.  The  animosity  displayed  by  the 
Russian  government  in  this  instance,  suffi- 
ciently proved  the  utility  of  their  society 


EMILY    PLATER.  47 

in  teaching  them  perseverance  ;  and  con- 
sequently they  reorgmized  their  society 
upon  a  much  larger  plan,  but  kept  their 
meetings  more  secret.  To  cultivate  litera- 
ture and  the  sciences,  to  dissipate  opinions 
prejud  cial  to  the  welfare  of  their  coun- 
try, to  imbue  every  heart  with  patriotism 
and  love  of  freedom — such  were  the  noble 
objects  this  association  proposed  to  itself. 
This  association,  composed,  as  it  was,  of 
the  greatest  part  of  the  most  intelligent 
young  men  in  Poland,  under  the  direction  of 
Thomas  Zan,a  man  of  the  most  energetic 
character  and  daring  mind,  was  perfectly 
adequate  to  the  performance  of  the  duties 
its  members  had  imposed  upon  themselves. 
Lithuania  already  began  to  feel  the  benefit 
of  these  noble  operations ;  a  typographical 
association  was  formed  for  the  cheap  pub- 
lication of  Polish  works  ;  these  were  fol- 
lowed by  the  organization  of  a  society 
which  had  for  itsobject  the  affording  to  in- 
digent, but  industrious  young  men,  the 
means  of  pursuing   their  studies ;  a  third 


48  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

one  undertook  to  prepare  a  correct  and 
minute  digest  of  the  statistics  of  the  Po- 
lish provinces,  whose  inhabitants,  till  that 
time  plunged  in  apathy,  were  soon  lost  in 
amazement  at  the  immense  advantage 
they  derived  from  these  labors — a  result 
which  any  single  individual  would  have 
sought  to  effect  in  vain.  This  association 
succeeded,  through  their  unremitting  ef- 
forts, in  remodelling  the  national  charac- 
ter, and  dissipating  existing  prejudices— 
the  value  of  labor  began  to  be  appreciated, 
and  industry  was  no  longer  deemed  de- 
grading. Such  was  their  mode  of  conduct- 
ting  their  secret  operations  against  des- 
potism. Zan  was  well  aware  of  the 
physical  impossibility  of  success  in  a 
premature  struggle  with  the  giant  of  the 
north,  and  that  such  a  movement,  far  from 
being  of  any  service  to  the  country,  would 
only  ensure  the  subversion  of  all  his  plans. 
He  therefore  limited  his  efforts  to  strength- 
ening his  countrymen  in  their  moral  cour- 
age, so  that  on  the  advent  of  that  day, 


EMILY    PLATER.  49 

when  Poland  slionld  have  to  call  on  her 
sons  for  aid,  no  Lithuanian  should  be  deaf 
to  her  voice.  Has  she  succeeded  1  Let  the 
insurrection  of  1831  answer  the  question. 

The  Russian  government  beheld  the 
existence  of  this  society  with  a  jealous 
eye,  but  the  mystery,  which  shrouded  its 
members,  baffled  all  the  ministerial  efforts 
which  were  made  to  discover  the  names  of 
those  whom  they  chose  to  call  conspira- 
tors. They  wanted  a  pretext  to  have 
them  arrested,  but  as  the  society  had  be- 
haved with  the  greatest  prudence  and  cir- 
cumspection, the  government  dared  not 
as  yet  make  private  opinion  a  matter  of 
high  treason.  At  last  an  incident  took 
place  which,  trivial  as  it  was,  afforded  a 
pretext  for  commencing  that  system  of 
persecutions  which,  for  two  consecutive 
years,  plunged  in  mourning  almost  every 
family  in  Lithuania. 

On  the  3d  May,  1823,  the  anniversary 
of  Poland's  adoption  of  the  constitution 
of  1791,  the  students  of  the  fifth  class  of 

5 


50  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

the  preparatory  school  of  the  university, 
being  assembled,  as  usual,  in  their  school 
room,  one  of  them,  Michael  Plater,  seized  a 
piece  of  chalk  and  wrote  on  one  of  the 
boards  :  Huzza  for  the  const ilutioji  of  the 
3d  May  !  Great  God  !  who  icill  restore  it 
to  us  7  The  professor  of  the  Russian  lan- 
guage, who  was  present,  denounced  at 
once  this  dreadful  crime  to  General  Kor- 
sakow,  then  governor  of  Wilna,  who  in- 
stantly despatched  a  special  messenger  to 
the  grand-duke  Constantine  with  the  in- 
telligence that  a  revolt  had  broken  out, 
but  that,  through  the  sagacious  measures 
of  the  government,  it  had  been  fortunately 
nipped  in  the  bud,  and  Count  Plater,  the 
chief  of  the  rebels,  had  been  arrested.  The 
grand-duke,  ever  trembling  with  fear  at  the 
mere  idea  of  a  revolt,  immediately  sent  Sen- 
ator Nowosiltzoflf  to  inquire  into  the  matter. 
This  man  seized,  with  avidity,  an  op- 
portunity wliich  placed  in  his  power  tlie 
means  not  only  of  materially  injuring  his 
paternal  enemy,  prince  Czartoryski,  but 


EMILY    PLATER.  51 

also  of  superseding  him  in  the  presidency 
of  Wihia  ;  an  office  so  richly  endowed  as 
to  be  an  object  worthy  of  that  rapacious 
cupidity,  which,  together  with  inordinate 
ambition  and  lust  of  power,  stimulated  the 
contemptible  character  of  this  man,  who 
saw  in  the  possession  of  it  nothing  but  the 
means  of  satisfying  his  sordid  avarice  and 
other  evil  propensities. 

On  his  arrival  at  Wilna,  in  the  full  de- 
termination to  find  guilt  in  innocence,  this 
man  caused  to  be  brought  before  his  tribu- 
nal those  who  were  accused  of  treason, 
when  five  children,  the  oldest  of  whom 
was  hardly  thirteen  years  of  age,  were 
brought  before  him.  The  ridicule  which 
he  was  about  to  bring  upon  his  sovereign 
by  treating  so  seriously  a  mere  boyish 
prank,  did  not  deter  him  from  his  ear- 
nest and  zealous  efforts  to  unravel  a  con- 
spiracy which  never  existed  but  in  his 
own  imagination.  This  course  was  the 
dictation  as  much  of  personal  interest  as  pri- 
vate views.    Besides,  of  what  consequence 


52  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

the  sacrifice  of  five  victims,  or  a  mother's 
malediction,  so  long  as  he  obtained  a  smile 
of  approbation  from  his  gracious  master  ! 
NowosiltzofT  found  an  associate  wor- 
thy of  himself  in  the  person  of  the  pro- 
fessor of  surgery,  at  the  same  university, 
named  Venceslas  Pelikan,  ^vho,  through 
motives  of  interest,  had  abjured  the  faith 
of  his  fathers  and  joined  the  Greek  Church, 
and  who  never  suffered  honor  or  reputa- 
tion to  stand  in  the  way  of  his  vile  ambi- 
tion. These  two  men  persecuted  the  Lithu- 
anian youth  with  deadly  hatred.  Zan  was 
incarcerated.  Detachments  of  dragoons 
overran  the  country  in  pursuit  of  those 
who  were  accused.  The  convents  of  Wil- 
na  were  overflowing  with  prisoners  thus 
daily  brought  in;  and  banishment  to  Sibe- 
ria was  the  common  topic  of  conversa- 
tion. The  police  agents,  as  well  as  the  mis- 
erable tools  of  Nowosiltzoff,  busied  them- 
selves in  spreading  rumors  of  horrible  plots 
for  the  overthrow,  not  only  of  the  throne, 
but  also  of  the  religion — plots  newly  dis- 


EMILY    PLATER.  53 

covered  through  the  senator's  unremitting 
exertions  and  acute  patriotism.  Notwith- 
standing all  these,  they  were  unable  to 
adduce  the  least  shadow  of  proof  that 
could  justify  their  persecutions. 

In  order  to  extort  a  confession  of  guilt 
which  existed  nowhere  but  in  their  own 
imaginations,  Nowosiltzoffand  Pelikan  re- 
sorted to  a  course  of  most  inhuman  means, 
which  the  refinements  of  their  cruelty 
substituted  in  place  of  the  rack  of  the 
dark  ages ;  such  as  the  scourge  while 
under  examination,  the  privation  of  food 
and  rest  for  several  days,  and  then  forcing 
them  to  feed  on  salt  herrings,  and  withhold- 
ing from  them  the  means  of  allaying  the 
intolerable  thirst  this  kind  of  diet  was  in- 
tended to  create.  But  none  of  these  tor- 
tures, exquisite  as  they  were,  could  extort 
from  them  the  avowal  of  a  crime  they  had 
not  committed,  or  the  utterance  of  a  single 
expression  which  could,  in  the  least,  im- 
plicate any  of  their  friends.  Furious  at 
the  failure  of  their  scheme,  they  at  last 

5* 


54  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

had  recourse  to  compelling  a  few  of  their 
captives  to  sign  a  set  of  interrogatories, 
prepared  for  the  occasion,  and  in  this  way 
succeeded  in  establishing  something  like 
the  existence  of  a  conspiracy,  the  discov- 
ery of  which  was  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
their  own  preferment. 

It  was  high  time  to  put  an  end  to  this 
cruel  farce,  which  had  been  acting  now 
for  two  years.  As  they  had  totally  failed 
in  finding  against  the  Lithuanian  youth 
any  thing  which  could  be  made  amenable 
to  the  ordinary  tribunals,  they  had  re- 
course to  a  plan  as  novel  as  it  was  out- 
rageous.— They  established  a  new  crime 
or  misdemeanor  which  they  called  derai- 
son*  and  made  this  crime  to  consist  in 
these  young  men's  atttachment  to,  and 
reverence  for,  the  usages  and  customs  of 
their  country,  and,  to  this  pretended  crime, 
they  awarded  different  degrees  of  punish- 
ment.    Zan  was  sent  to   the  fortress  of 

*  Deraison.     Such  was  the  exact  term  used  in  the 
ukase  of  September,  1824.    It  means  opposite  to  reason. 


EMILY    PLATER.  55 

Orenbourg.  Mickiewicz,  and  seven  other 
Philomatians,  with  seven  Philorathians, 
were  dispersed  in  different  provinces  of 
Russia,  but  under  the  strict  superinten- 
dence of  the  police.  Michael  Plater,  and 
his  classmates,  who  were  considered  his 
accomplices,  were  condemned  to  serve  in 
the  ranks  of  the  Russian  army.  To  those 
who  are  in  the  habit  of  regarding  the  mil- 
itary service  as  an  honorable  profession, 
this  last  sentence  must  seem  strange,  but 
in  Russia  it  is  regarded  as  the  most  infa- 
mous punishment  to  which  the  most  infa- 
mous malefactor  can  be  condemned  ;  and 
we  must  also  add,  that  the  condition  of  a 
Russian  soldier  is  worse  than  that  of  a 
galley  slave. 

The  iniquitous  sacrifice  of  so  many 
victims,  which  had  caused  a  flood  of  inno- 
cent tears  to  flow,  finally  crowned  with 
success  the  wicked  wishes  of  Nowosiltzoff 
and  Pelikan.  The  first  was  made  Curator 
and  the  other  Regent  of  the  university. 
They  immediately  adopted  a  new  plan  of 


56  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

public  instruction  ;  and  one  can  easily  im- 
agine what  sort  of  a  plan  this  must  have 
been, when  he  is  informed  that  Nowosilt- 
zofT  compiled  it  himself,  and  intrusted  the 
execution  of  it  toPelikan. 


EMILY    PLATER.  57 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Projects  of  marriage. — The  Russian   General  K*****. — 
Capt.  Baron  D*****. 

The  persecutions  mentioned  in  the  last 
chapter  exasperated  the  public  mind,  and 
greatly  increased  their  hatred  for  despot- 
ism, and  schemes  of  vengeance  were  se- 
cretly planned.  The  Russians  were  de- 
tested to  that  degree  that  their  individual 
presence  cou  d  hardly  be  tolerated  in  pri- 
vate society.  They  were  received  in  the 
palaces  of  the  nobility  with  that  distant  and 
cold  formality  which  could  not  but  make 
them  feel  that,  if  their  visits  were  tolerated 
they  were  not  welcomed.  Every  thing 
portended  a  revolution  which,  if  remote, 
was  not  the  less  inevitable.  The  inhabit- 
ants of  Livonia,  although  personally  ex- 
empt from  these  persecutions,  yet  keenly 
felt  for  the  unhappy  fate  of  their  compatri- 


58  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

ots  of  Lithuania,  and  were  consequently 
actuated  by  the  same  spirit  of  animosity. 
The  cruel  blow  the  Plater  family  had 
sustained  in  the  arbitrary  sentence  which 
had  tloomed  one  of  its  members  to  an  ig- 
nominious punishment,  had  greatly  increas- 
ed the  general  gloom  and  public  sentiment. 
Madame  Lieberg  wept  over  the  fate  of  her 
native  country,  once  free  and  independent, 
while  the  young  Emily,  indignant  at 
Nowosiltzoff's  heinous  conduct,  expressed 
her  abhorrence  of  the  government  with  all 
the  energetic  frankness  of  a  bold  and  noble 
heart,  which  flagrant  injustice  had  deeply 
wounded. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  unhappy  state  of 
the  country,  combined  with  other  circum- 
stances, often  brought  the  nobility  in  con- 
tact with  the  Russians.  Lixna  was  situ- 
ated in  the  vicinity  of  Diinabourg,  and  its 
domains,  being  contiguous  to  the  grounds 
of  the  citadel,  proved  a  source  of  many 
contentions,  which  compelled  Madame 
Lieberg  to  have  frequent  intercourse  with 


EMILY    PLATER.  59 

the  commanding  officer,  and  to  treat  him, 
as  well  as  the  other  officers  of  the  garri- 
son, with  some  civility  ;  and,  as  they  were 
very  glad  to  find  a  place  of  resort  to  dissi- 
pate the  dulness  and  the  monotony  of  a 
garrison  life,  they  made  themselves  per- 
fectly at  home  in  their  visits,  which  be- 
came much  more  frequent  than  was  de- 
sired at  Lixna. 

The  commanding  officer  of  the  Engi- 
neer corps,  General  K.,  was  very  assiduous 
in  paying  his  respects  to  Madame  Lieberg. 
He  was  a  soldier  and  a  Russian,  in  the  full 
sense  of  the  word.  He  had  the  reputation 
of  being  very  clever  in  his  profession,  but 
extremely  awkward  in  his  manners,  and 
so  severe  a  disciplinarian,  that  he  would 
have  put  himself  under  arrest  had  he  ac- 
cidentally discovered  that  he  had  present- 
ed himself  with  a  button  more  or  less  on 
his  coat  than  the  rules  and  regulations 
prescribed. 

In  his  visits  to  Lixna,  General  K.  took 
particular  notice  of  Emily,  and  finally  re- 


60  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

solved  to  marry  her  ;  the  most  difficult 
part  for  him,  however,  was  how  to  ijo  to 
work  to  gain  the  heart  of  the  young  Lith- 
uanian, and  it  was  no  easy  matter  for  such 
a  lover.  The  heart  of  a  young  girl  is  not 
to  be  stormed  like  a  fortification,  and, 
whatever  may  be  the  skill  of  a  soldier  in 
the  besieging  of  a  fortress,  he  may  find 
himself  entirely  at  fault  when  sweet  words 
and  tender  looks  are  the  only  weapons  to 
be  used  ;  and  of  all  others  General  K.  was 
the  least  calculated  to  succeed  in  a  love 
affair.  He  knew  well  how  to  speak  to  his 
troops  of  marches  and  battles,  but  with 
young  ladies  it  was  quite  otherwise.  When- 
ever he  found  himself  with  Emily,  he 
was  entirely  at  a  loss  how  to  behave ;  he 
was  awkward  and  almost  dumb,  and  if  he 
spoke  at  all,  it  was  not  to  the  purpose  ;  he 
wanted  words  to  express  himself  and  could 
hardly  say  anything,  even  on  the  common 
topic  of  the  weather.  But  at  last,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  confidence,  and  resolved 
to  make,  at  once,  a  final  attempt  to  gain  his 


EMILY    PLATER.  61 

point — if  not  an  avowal  of  love,  at  least 
the  permission  to  sue  for  her  hand,  and 
hope  for  the  future.  He  thought  that  no 
one  could  dare  to  say  no  to  one  who  wore 
the  epaulettes  of  a  General  and  the  cordon 
of  St.  Anne. 

One  day  he  found  himself  alone  with 
Emily,  and  he  resolved  to  avail  himself  of 
the  opportunity.  Having  matured  his  plan 
and  carefully  selected  the  language  he  in- 
tended to  use,  he  commenced  his  attack  ; 
but  at  the  critical  moment  his  treacherous 
memory  failed  him ;  yet  his  courage  did 
not  forsake  him,  and  with  a  firm  step  he 
approached  her,  as  if  he  intended  to  throw 
himself  at  her  feet  ; — "  Mademoiselle," 
said  he,  "  I  come  to  offer  you  my  hand." 
The  shell  was  fired,  the  detonation  made, 
and  the  General,  proud  of  his  exploit,  cast 
his  eyes  down  and  was  waiting  for  an  an- 
swer ;  but  seeing  that  none  was  made  he 
resumed : 

"  Mademoiselle,  I  come  to  offer  you  my 
hand." 

6 


62  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

''  Sir,  I  refuse  it,"  dryly  answered 
Emily. 

He  was  far  from  expecting  such  an  an- 
swer, and  felt  somewhat  abashed.  He  did 
not,  however,  give  up,  but  returning  to  the 
subject  he  continued  : 

"  But  think  of  my  rank.  Countess,  and 
the  favor  which  I  enjoy  with  the  Em- 
peror." 

"  I  am  fully  aware  of  the  honor  you 
condescend  to  bestow  upon  me  by  your 
choice,  but — " 

"  Well— but— " 

"  The  thing  is  impossible." 

"  Impossible  !"  muttered  the  disap- 
pointed General.  ''  Am  I  so  unfortunate 
as  to  liave  incurred  your  aversion  ?" 

"  I  do  not  hate  you  personally." 

"Is  the  disproportion  in  our  ages  an 
objection  ?" 

"  The  husband  should  always  be  older 
than  the  wife." 

"It  is  exactly  what  I  think  myself. 
Perhaps  your  heart — " 


EMILY    PLATER.  6 


o 


"  Is  perfectly  free." 

''  You  can  never  find  a  better  choice." 

"  I  do  not  deny  it." 

"  Tlien  nothing  is  in  the  way — " 

"  I  am  a  daughter  of  Poland^ 

This  last  answer  crushed  his  hopes.  It 
was  given  with  so  much  dignity,  and  in  a 
tone  so  noble  and  imposing,  that  the  Gen- 
eral did  not  know  what  to  say  ;  he  remain- 
ed silent  for  a  short  time,  and  then  left  her. 
Having  failed  with  the  young  lady,  he  had 
recourse  to  Madame  Lieberg,  whom  he 
sought  to  conciliate  to  his  views,  but  here 
he  also  failed.  This  lady  assured  him,  that 
having  left  Emily  entirely  free  in  her 
choice,  she  should  decline  exercising  any 
influence  over  her,  and  wouldj  therefore, 
have  nothing  to  do  in  the  matter. 

Thus  rejected,  the  General  left  l^ixna 
in  a  rage,  resolving  never  to  visit  it  again ; 
I  and,  on  his  return  to  the  garrison,  found 
fault  with  every  thing  and  every  body,  and 
placed  several  officers  under  arrest.  He 
could  not  yet  realize  that  it  was  possible 


64  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

for  any  one  to  dare  to  refuse  his  hand — 
the  hand  of  such  a  man  as  the  command- 
ing officer  of  the  Engineer  Corps.  "  I  will 
show  them,"  said  he,  in  the  paroxysm  of 
his  passion,  "  that  a  Russian  General  can 
marry."  He  did,  indeed,  marry,  but  not  a 
Polish  wife. 

Among  the  officers  who  visited  Lixna, 
Emily  had  for  some  time  past  noticed  the 
Baron  D.,  a  Saxon  by  birth,  and  Captain  of 
Engineers  in  the  Russian  service.  He  was 
a  mild  and  learned  man,  and  as  much  be- 
loved by  his  brother  officers,  as  he  was  es- 
teemed by  all  that  was  respectable  in  socie- 
ty. She  was  pleased  with  his  company  ;  his 
conversation,  as  agreeable  as  it  was  in- 
structive, had  nothing  of  that  pedantic  af- 
fectation which  is  so  often  displayed  by  the 
learned.  The  Baron  D.,  although  in  the  vig- 
or of  his  age,  was  nevertheless  too  old  for 
Emily,  who  was  then  just  entering  the  age 
of  womanhood  ;  and  having  seen  her  grow 
up,  as  it  were,  under  his  eyes,  he  was  .still 
in  the  habit  of  considering  her  as  a  child. 


EMILY    PLATER.  65 

and  freely  gave  himself  up  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  sweet  friendship  as  pure  as  a  vir- 
gin's mind,  without  even  suspecting  that, 
at  some  future  time,  she  could  be  the  ob- 
ject of  any  other  sentiment. 

Emily  having  manifested  a  wish  to 
study  mathematics,  a  science  little  suited 
to  the  female  mind,  but  for  which  she  had 
exhibited  a  decided  aptitude,  even  from 
childhood,  the  Baron  offered  himself  as  her 
professor  ;  w  hich  offer  being  accepted,  the 
lessons  commenced. 

Emily,  without  being  perfect  in  beau- 
ty, w^as  nevertheless  well  calculated  to 
inspire  sentiments  of  deep  attachment ; 
especially  in  a  man  who  can  value  the 
qualities  of  the  soul  and  mind,  more  than 
those  of  the  body.  She  was  of  middle 
size,  well  shaped,  of  a  rather  pale  com- 
plexion ;  her  face  was  round,  with  a  small 
mouth  now  and  then  adorned  with  a  sweet 
smile ;  she  possessed  a  clear,  sweet  voice, 
which  reached  to  the  heart ;  and  large 
blue  eyes,  whose  brightness  was  softened 

6* 


66  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

by  a  melancholy  expression.  There  was 
nothing  very  striking  in  her  person  at  first 
sight,  but,  on  acquaintance,  one  would  dis- 
cover new  charms  in  her  almost  every  day. 

The  Baron,  who,  in  the  quality  of  tutor, 
was  necessarily  obliged  to  be  with  her  very 
often,  could  justly  appreciate  her  worth  ; 
and  one  day  he  was  astonished  at  the  im- 
pression she  had  imperceptibly  made  upon 
his  heart.  This  discovery  deeply  afflicted 
him,  and  so  much  the  more  as  he  was  well 
aware  of  the  inveterate  aversion  Emily  en- 
tertained for  all  that  was  Russian,  and  that 
he  could  not,  therefore,  dare  to  hope  ever  to 
succeed  in  obtaining  her  consent  to  the 
consummation  of  his  happiness.  He  had 
the  delicacy  even,  to  abstain,  most  scrupu- 
lously, from  any  expression  which  could 
expose  the  state  of  his  heart,  and  confining 
himself  to  the  friendship  of  his  pupil,  he 
left  the  rest  to  time. 

The  heart  of  woman,  however,  instinc- 
tively becomes  conscious  of  whatever  im- 
pression her  charms  may  have  made,  and 


EMILY    PLATER,  67 

it  was  not  long  before  Emily  perceived  the 
feelings  of  her  professor  towards  her. 

It  grieved  her  much,  as  she  could  not 
return  the  affections  of  the  man  wiiom  she 
esteemed  the  most  in  the  world  !  Love 
was  unknown  to  her,  and  differing  much 
in  this  respect  from  most  women,  she  never 
dreamed  of  marriage.  Poland,  with  w^hom 
she  had  identified  herself,  was  the  sole  ob- 
ject of  her  thoughts.  Her  only  ambition 
w^as  to  devote  herself  to  the  service  of  her 
unhappy  and  oppressed  country.  She 
w  ould  never  have  consented  to  destroy,  by 
her  marriage,  this  splendid  image  of  her 
imagination  ;  in  fact,  she  felt  that  the  quiet 
felicity  of  domestic  life  could  never  be  her 
lot,  and  could  never  satisfy  the  ardor  of 
her  soul.  But  entertaining  the  greatest 
respect  for  the  Captain's  feelings,  as  w^ell 
as  for  his  delicacy  towards  her,  she  sought 
to  alleviate  his  anguish  by  the  sincerity  of 
her  friendship. 

The  Baron  continued  his  lessons,  and 
once  in  a  while  some  tender  expression 


68  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

would  escape  him,  which,  however  inno- 
cent in  itself,  would  reveal  the  state  of  his 
heart.  To  such  expressions  Emily  never 
replied,  and  seemed  not  to  understand  them. 
Sometimes  books  and  figures  were  laid 
aside  for  a  few  moments  of  social  conversa- 
tion, free,  however,  from  any  thing  like  sen- 
timent. 

But  the  jealousy  of  General  K.  towards 
one  wlio,  though  a  mere  admirer,  had 
not,  like  him,  as  yet  met  with  the  mortifi- 
cation of  a  dismissal,  could  not  allow  them 
to  enjoy  this  calm  felicity  undisturbed ; 
for  a  simple  Captain  to  dare  to  rival  him, 
was,  as  it  appeared  to  him,  an  act  of  actual 
insubordination.  He  saw  nothing  but  an 
infraction  of  the  established  order  of  mil- 
itary rank,  and,  in  order  to  arrest  the  evil, 
he  had  recourse  to  his  military  power,  by 
means  of  which  he  was  able  to  impose  so 
much  duty  on  the  Baron,  as  to  leave  him 
but  very  little  time  to  visit  Lixna.  His 
visits  became  less  frequent  and  his  lessons 
were  interrupted.     At  last,  disgusted  with 


EMILY    PLATER.  69 

these  malicious  persecutions,  and  full  of  in- 
dignation at  such  flagrant  injustice,  and  per- 
haps too,  in  the  hope  of  finding  in  absence 
a  remedy  for  his  unhappy  attachment,  the 
Baron  asked  for,  and  obtained  a  transfer 
to  the  fortress  of  Bobruysk,  where,  we  sin- 
cerely hope,  he  has  found  that  tranquillity 
and  peace  of  mind  he  so  much  required. 

If  ever  this  work  should  reach  beyond 
the  barrier  which  Russian  despotism  has 
erected  against  the  introduction  of  any 
books  in  which  even  the  name  of  Poland  is 
mentioned  ;  if  ever  it  should  happen  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  Baron  D.,  he  may 
possibly  take  pleasure  in  perusing  these 
few  pages,  which,  although  without  the 
honor  of  his  personal  acquaintance,  we 
have  written  from  Emily's  recollection, 
who  always  entertained  for  him  a  sincere 
regard. 


70  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 


CHAPTER    V. 

Travels  of  Emily  in  Poland. 

The  love  of  activity,  the  energy  of  soul, 
the  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  the  active  im- 
agination which  were  so  glowingly  por- 
trayed in  the  character  of  our  heroine, 
all  served  to  inspire  her  with  an  ardent  de- 
sire for  travel.  It  was  not,  however,  the 
romantic  charms  of  foreign  countries  which 
captivated  her  imagination,  neither  had 
the  enchanting  amusements  of  Paris  and 
London  any  attraction  for  her.  "Let  me," 
she  often  said,  "  let  me  travel  in  foreign 
countries,  to  reap  the  fruits  of  a  more  ad- 
vanced civilization  than  ours,  to  improve 
in  sciences  and  industry,  and  return  to  this 
country  with  a  store  of  useful  knowledge  ; 
but,  as  for  me,  a  weak  and  ignorant  wo- 
man, all  I  desire  is  to  know  my  own  coun- 
try, in  order  to  love  her  still  more  ar- 
dently." 


EMILY    PLATER.  71 

Accordingly,  in   the    year    1829,  the 
Countess  Anna  Plater  having  resolved  to 
visit  Cracow,  thought  she  could  not  con- 
fer a  greater  pleasure  on  her  daughter  than 
to  take  her  along  with  her.  Cracow  is  the 
classic  ground  of  Poland;  every  thing  there 
is  purely  national — the  place  is   resplen- 
dent with  the  glory  of  our  ancestors,  and 
every   spot  proclaims  our  former   power. 
Let  us  follow  this  young  woman,  and  care- 
fully note  her  observations.     Let  us  ob- 
serve  the  impression  made  by   so  many 
memorials  on  her  noble  and  patriotic  mind. 
Should  we  exceed  our  prescribed  limits, 
and,  yielding  to  the  charms  of  memory, 
unconsciously  become  tedious  in  our  nar- 
rations, we  sincerely  hope  our  readers  will 
extend  their  indulgence  to  an  unfortunate 
exile  from  his  beloved  country,  and  forgive 
him,  if,  in  a  foreign  land,  that  unhappy 
country  has  become  the  sole  subject  of  all 
his  dreams ; — the  reminiscences  of  home 
are  sweet,  and  replete  with  charms  for  an 
unhappy  exile. 


72  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

When  Emily  had  passed  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  Lithuanian  territory,  when  the 
last  Cossack  sentinel  had  been  left  behind, 
she  felt  her  heart  relieved,  as  it  were,  from 
an  enormous  w^eight.  It  seemed  to  her  that 
she  breathed  a  purer  air,  and  the  heavens 
seemed  to  glow  with  brighter  hues.  She 
found  herself  in  her  cherished,  though 
wretched  kingdom.  But  cannot  that  king- 
dom again  recover  its  former  splendor,  and 
reconquer  its  lost  provinces  ? — Then  the 
Russian  language  ceased  to  shock  her  ears, 
and  the  abhorred  uniform  to  offend  her 
eyes.  Here  all  was  national,  and  the  lively 
peasant  spoke  a  language  she  understood 
and  loved  to  hear ; — a  great  degree  of 
happiness  seemed  to  reign  about  her. 

Emily  had  always  entertained  a  great 
regard  for  that  poor  and  oppressed  class  of 
people,  which  misery  and  oppression  had 
overwhelmed;  and  yet  this  class  is  far 
more  attached  to  its  ungrateful  country 
than  those  masters  of  theirs  whom  that 
same  country  has  loaded  witli  wealth  and 


EMILY    PLATER.  73 

privileges.  The  Polish  peasant  cultivated 
the  soil  during  peace,  but  when  an  enemy 
threatened  his  country,  he  mounted  his 
swift  konic,*  and  flew  to  its  defence.  We 
have  seen,  says  one  of  our  poets,  the  pea- 
sant share  the  dangers  and  the  glory  of 
the  country  with  the  nobles,  but  never  par- 
ticipate in  their  games  or  crimes.  Proud 
of  the  performance  of  his  duty,  caring  lit- 
tle for  fame  or  reward,  as  soon  as  the  war 
is  over  he  returns  to  his  humble  cottage  and 
resumes  his  ordinary  occupations,  rich  only 
in  the  recollections  which  constitute  the 
attractions  and  charms  of  his  home  during 
the  long  winter  evenings  ;  and  w  hile  the 
cringing  and  contemptible  noble  bows  in 
humble  submission  to  the  power  which 
oppresses  him,  and  kisses  the  hand  that 
scourges  him ;  while  he  eagerly  seeks  all 

*  Konic,  a  small  horse  or  pony  of  extreme  vigor,  and 
of  an  almost  incredible  swiftness.  During  the  campaign 
of  1812,  these  horses,  which  they  call  konias,  were  ir 
great  demand  among  the  French.  They  are  common  ii 
Poland,  but  much  more  so  in  Lithuania. 

7 


74  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

that  is  foreign,  and  denies  his  own  cou  try, 
the  peasant  religiously  adheres  to  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  his  ancestors,  and  to 
their  hatred  for  the  enemies  of  Poland. 
What  a  vast  number  of  precious  traditions  of 
our  great  men,  and  which  would  be  sought 
for  in  vain  elsewhere,  are  still  in  existence 
in  almost  every  cottage.  There  the  illus- 
trious names  of  Pulaski,  Kosciuszko,  and 
Joseph  Poniatowski  still  live  in  all  their 
pimitive  splendor.  The  Polish  language,  as 
spoken  by  the  peasants,  possesses  nothing 
of  that  sweetness  and  softness  which  is  to 
be  found  in  palaces  and  saloons.  Among 
them,  it  has  retained  its  primitive,  bold, 
masculine  roughness.  In  hearing  it,  one 
feels  that  it  is  the  language  of  a  people 
eminently  warlike — one  which  values  its 
independence  and  military  valor  more  than 
any  thing  else. 

In  Lithuania,  where  thepeasant,  weigh- 
ed down  by  servitude,  distrusts  his  master 
and  avoids  his  presence ;  in  Lithuania, 
where  the  jargon  of  the  peasantry  differs 


EMILY    PLATER.  75 

SO  much  from  the  language  of  the  nobility, 
Emily  altogether  failed  in  her  attempts  to 
acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  genu- 
ine Polish  character.  In  Poland,  however, 
it  was  quite  otherwise.  On  her  arrival 
in  the  Palatinate  of  Lublin,  she  found  the 
genuine  Pole  the  true  type  of  the  ancient 
Sarmatian.  The  peasant  of  this  prov- 
ince is  lively,  industrious  and  frank  ;  he  is 
always  ready  to  fly  to  the  assistance  of  his 
brethren,  and  possesses  all  those  character- 
istics which  constitute  a  distinct  and  highly 
interesting  people.  It  was  impossible  for 
Emily  to  live  among  such  a  people  and  not 
conceive  for  them  a  high  degree  of  esteem. 
She  loved  to  converse  with  these  people, 
whose  singleness  of  heart  she  admired, 
and  whose  mind  reflected  that  pure  and 
disinterested  patriotism  which  constituted 
the  real  strength  of  Poland,     ^ 

She  would  attentively  listen  to,  and 
carefully  store  in  her  memory  those  old 
traditions  (to  her,  as  the  memorials  of  our 
victories  and  formerpower,  full  of  charms,) 


76  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

which  were  the  usual  topics  of  conversa- 
tion around  the  hearth  of  the  cottage. 
Let  us  add,  that  it  was  among  that  class  of 
people  her  sweet  and  compassionate  dispo- 
sitions sought  out  the  unfortunate  to  con- 
sole, and  the  needy  to  relieve ;  endeavor- 
ing to  assuage,  by  her  kindness,  those  sor- 
rows which  injustice  and  cruel  prejudices 
had  heaped  upon  them.  She  persuaded 
herself  that  to  relieve  the  imfortunate  and 
the  destitute  was,  really,  to  serve  her 
country. 

When,  on  the  confines  of  Sandomir, 
she  asked  a  tall  peasant,  of  a  hold  demea- 
nor, what  country  he  was  from,  he  proudly 
answered  from  the  free  territory  of  Cra- 
cow. 

The  word  free  seemed  to  impart  to 
him  a  feeling  of  superiority  over  all  that 
surrounded  him  ;  and  yet,  in  what  does  this 
liberty  consist,  of  which  he  seemed  so 
proud  7  In  his  having  three  instead  of 
one  master.  But  how  often  do  we  see  the 
shadow  taken  for  the  substance,  and  in  fact 


EMILY    PLATER.  77 

elevated  to  an  equality  with  it  in  the  eyes 
of  the  multitude  ! 

At  last  she  came  within  sight  of  Cra- 
cow. No  pilgrim  to  the  holy  sepulchre  ever 
hailed,  with  greater  joy  and  respect  the 
object  of  his  veneration,  than  Emily  did 
the  ancient  capital  of  her  country.  Cracow 
is  the  Rome  of  Poland,  because,  like  Rome, 
it  is  the  city  of  a  people  once  free  and 
powerful ;  and  even  now,  when  all  around 
her  is  rotting  in  slavery,  she  seems  to  glory 
in  the  name  o^  free  city^  which  is  all  that 
remains  to  her  of  her  ancient  glory,  and  of 
which  she  seems  as  proud  as  o(  a  shot-rid- 
dled standard  just  from  the  field  of  battle. 
One  can  hardly  enter  this  city  without  a 
feeling  of  oppression,  and  in  imagination, 
to  hear  the  voice  of  the  past. 

Here  the  sacred  soil  contains  the  re- 
mains and  the  tomb  of  Krakus,  the  founder 
of  the  city,  also  the  ashes  of  Kosciuszko, 
together  with  the  monument  which  nation- 
al enthusiasm  and  national  gratitude  have 
erected  to  the  memory  of  this  last  hero  of 


78  LIFE   OF    THE    COUNTESS 

free  Poland.  Cracow  is,  as  it  were,  the 
cradle  and  the  grave  of  the  nation.  Em- 
ily felt  all  the  emotions  which  the  sanctity 
of  these  ruins,  and  the  noblest  recollec- 
tions can  awake  in  a  truly  patriotic  heart. 
She  seemed  like  the  guardian  angel  of 
Greece,  visiting  the  ruins  of  Ithaca  and  of 
Laconia  at  the  moment  when  this  free  and 
powerful  republic  was  about  to  reassume 
its  rank  among  nations.  Alas !  this  North- 
ern Greece  has  not  been  as  fortunate  as  the 
country  of  the  Hellenes.  She  has  been 
obliged  to  resume  her  servitude,  even  as 
the  primitive  Christians  were  obliged  by 
Nero  to  clothe  themselves  in  tarred  vest- 
ments, in  order  to  illuminate  his  festivals. 
Emily  visited  the  palace  which  not 
long  since  was  the  scene  of  so  much  masr- 
nificence,  and  which,  notwithstanding  all 
the  devastations  occasioned  by  so  many 
■wars  and  incendiary  attempts  to  destroy, 
still  retains  a  few  traces  of  its  former  splen- 
dor. The  Vandalism  of  its  conquerors, 
rather  than  time  itself,  has  contributed  to  - 


EMILY    PLATER.  79 

its  destruction  ;  the  sacrilegious  hand  of 
Austria  having  dared  even  to  convert 
the  palace  of  our  kings  into  common  bar- 
racks. In  vain  did  Emily  look  for  that  hall 
in  which  Jagellon  once  astonished  all 
Europe  by  the  pomp  and  splendor  of  his 
court.  The  senate  chamber,  like  the  com- 
monwealth it  represented,  no  longer  exist- 
ed ;  all  that  here  and  there  offered  itself 
to  her  view,  were  a  few  sepulchral  frag- 
ments, and  some  remains  of  paintings  in 
the  Gothic  windows,  standing  as  if  in  as- 
tonishment at  their  survival  of  all  that 
formerly  surrounded  them,  and  the  mean- 
ing of  which  the  mind  labored  in  vain  to 
explain. 

Broken  hearted  at  the  aspect  of  these 
sad  ruins,  Emily  sought  refuge  in  the  vaults 
of  the  cathedral,  where  the  sacred  ashes 
of  our  kings  and  of  our  illustrious  men  are 
reposing.  When  alone,  in  the  midst  of 
ages  passed,  she  evoked,  from  their  tombs, 
the  shades  of  the  Batorys  and  the  Sobies- 
kis ;  passed  centuries  rose  before  her,  and 


80  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

ill  her  ardent  imagination,  every  thing  be- 
fore her  in  the  mansion  of  the  dead,  as- 
sumed a  new  life.  It  was  there  the  Tzar 
of  Moscow  sought  the  protection  of  the 
holy  Father  against  the  sword  of  Batory, 
— it  was  there  the  Austrian  ambassador 
threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  Sobieski,  ex- 
claiming :  "  Oh  !  Sire,  save  Christianity." 
All  these  recollections  nearly  overpowered 
the  feelings  of  our  heroine ;  and  here  she 
would  have  remained  all  her  life,  or,  rather 
until  the  shout  of  independence  should 
ring  from  the  Niemen  to  the  Vistula,  call- 
ing for  men  and  arms  to  expel  the  com- 
mon oppressor. 

On  her  return  thence,  Emily  met  the 
Austrian  Commissary,  who  then  resided  in 
the  vicinity  of  Cracow.  He  seemed  to 
her  the  spectre  of  slavery  itself,  who,  on 
her  awakening  from  her  dreams  of  liberty, 
had  come  to  seize  her.  At  the  sight  of 
him,  she  felt  a  great  oppression  at  the  lieart, 
and  she  turned  from  him  with  horror. 

Cracow  is  one  of  the  handsomest,  as 


EMILY    PLATER.  81 

well  as  one  of  the  largest  cities  in  Poland, 
and  its  environs  are  delightful.  Seldom 
does  any  thing  finer  or  more  picturesque 
meet  the  eye. — Here  you  meet  with  opu- 
lent boroughs  and  comfortable  villages,  the 
habitations  of  cheerful  and  happy  country 
people;  and  there,  one  is  delighted  with 
the  smiling  prospects  of  rich  valleys,  com- 
manded by  beautiful  knolls,  the  site  of 
elegant  mansions,  once  the  abode  of  abun- 
dance, felicity  and  hilarity  ;  but  now,  of 
WTetchedness,  solitude  and  degradation. 
The  Carpathian  mountains,  with  their 
hoary  summits,  seem  to  form,  in  their  re- 
moteness, a  suitable  back-ground  to  this 
grand  picture,  forming,  as  a  whole,  a  spec- 
tacle ever  to  be  admired.  Emily  also  vis- 
ited the  charming  valley  of  Prondnik,  and 
obtained  a  stalactite  from  the  cave  called 
to  this  day  the  Royal  Grotto,  because  in 
former  times,  Ladislas  (le-bref)  occupied  it 
as  the  only  retreat  he  could  find  against 
the  close  pursuit  of  his  enemies. 

In  her  visits  to  the  spacious  halls  of 


82  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

the  Piaskowa  Skala,  a  painting  represent- 
ing a  beautiful  black-eyed  young  nun,  with 
a  sword  in  her  hand,  attracted  her  partic- 
ular attention,  and,  excited  by  curiosity, 
she  sought  for  an  explanation,  which  the 
keeper  of  the  castle  afforded.  He  said  it 
was  the  portrait  of  a  lady  of  the  Wielo- 
polski  family,  who  lived  a  great  many 
years  since,  and  who,  imbued  from  infancy 
with  the  spirit  of  chivalry,  disguised  her- 
self in  man's  attire  and  joined  the  army 
against  the  foes  of  her  country.  She  be- 
came celebrated  for  her  bravery  and  heroic 
achievements,  but  no  one  ever  suspected 
that  the  valiant  arm,  which  so  skilfully 
wielded  the  sword,  was,  by  nature,  destin- 
ed to  handle  only  the  distaff.  Mere  chance 
did  unravel  the  mystery.  The  heroine 
cast  off  her  military  trappings,  and  anx- 
ious of  shunning  a  w^orld  which  could  not 
forgive  her  so  glaring  a  departure  from  its 
received  customs,  sought  the  seclusion  of 
a  cloister.  But  habituated  as  she  was  to 
the   fatigues  of  the  camp,  she    could  not 


EMILY    PLATER.  83 

endure  the  monotonous  tranquillity  of  a 
contemplative  life,  and  she  soon  after  died. 
But,  as  a  memorial  of  her  bold  adventure, 
she  was  buried  with  her  arms,  and  with 
them  also  did  the  painter  represent  her. 
These  incidents  threw  Emily  into  a  deep 
meditation,  and  we  may  well  say  that  the 
keeper's  narrative  had  a  decided  influence 
on  her  subsequent  life  ;  and  under  the  tent 
as  well  as  on  the  field  of  battle  the  image 
of  the  nun  of  Piaskowa  Skala  was  ever 
present  to  her  mind.  She  often  made  it 
the  subject  of  her  conversation,  and  that 
painting  remained  indelibly  impressed  on 
her  memory.  Much  to  her  regret,  she 
could  not  learn  from  the  keeper  either  the 
name  of  the  war  in  which  she  served,  or 
the  time  of  her  death. 

From  Cracow  she  repaired  to  the  cap- 
ital of  the  kingdom.  On  her  route  she 
visited  the  famous  field  of  Raszyn,  where 
Prince  Joseph  Poniatowski,  with  eight 
thousand  Polish  recruits,  fought  in  1809, 
against  forty   thousand  Austrians.      But 


84  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

Warsaw,  with  all  its  pomp,  its  palaces  and 
theatres,  could  not  satisfy  a  soul  in  which 
strong  emotions  had  become  a  passion. 
She  seemed  actually  wrapt  in    the  past, 
and  in  it  she  thought  to  descry  a  pledge 
for  the  future.    All  the  amusements  of  the 
capital,  on    the  grave  as  it   were  of  her 
country's  freedom,  she  regarded  as  actually 
criminal,  and,  if    at  any  time  she    was 
allured  by  the  hilarity  and  pleasures  of 
the  day,  a  Russian  presence  would  soon 
dissipate  the  delusion,  and  she  would  at 
once  relapse  into  her  habitual  melancholy. 
The  Tzarevitsch — a  tiger  in  human  shape, 
had  selected  this  city  for  his  lair,  and  the 
pestiferous  breath  of  the  police,  contam- 
inated its  atmosphere.     The  sight  of  her 
young  countrymen,  who,  under  a  Russian 
commander,    were   daily    drilled   in    the 
public  square,  filled  Emily's   heart  with 
anguish. 

She  reflected  that  in  these  young  war- 
riors consisted  all  the  strength  of  her 
country,  and  fain  would  she  see  the  day 


-«->- 


EMILY    PLATER.  85 

when  they  would  use  their  talents,  and 
turn  their  arms  against  their  country's  op- 
pressors. One  year  after,  they  did  most 
worthily  realize  the  most  sanguine  wishes 
of  this  patriotic  young  maiden ;  and  this  lit- 
tle army  surpassed  even  the  hope  the  Poles 
had  placed  in  their  forces. 

Meanwhile,  if  Warsaw,  this  second 
capital  of  the  ancient  republic,  does  not 
possess' the  importance  of  Cracow,  yet 
there  are  many  glorious  recollections  con- 
nected with  her  which  must  cause  emo- 
tions in  a  Polish  heart,  and  which  did  not 
fail  to  exercise  great  influence  on  our 
young  traveller's  mind  and  imagination. 

It  was  Sigismond  III.  who  transferred 
the  seat  of  government  from  Cracow  to 
Warsaw ;  and  the  last  king,  Stanislas 
Augustus,  even  obtained  permission  from 
the  States  in  Session,  to  be  crowned  in 
this  city.  The  first  object  which  attract- 
ed Emily's  attention,  was  the  royal  pal- 
ace, situated  on  a  lofty  elevation,  which 
commands  a  fine  view  of  the  Vistula  and 

8 


86  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

its  opposite  bank ;  she   admired  its  two 
Halls  of  Assembly.      There  she  recalled 
to  her  mind  the    assembly   of   1773,    as 
much  disgraced  by  the  ignominious  con- 
duct of  Poninski,  as  it  Avas  rendered  il- 
lustrious by  the  patriotism  of  Key  ten.  She 
paused   with   respect,    on    the   tiireshold 
which  had  served  as  a  pillow  to  this  emi- 
nent citizen,  when  he  protested  against  the 
most  revolting   of  tyrannies.      If  was  in 
this  hall  the  voice  of  our  fathers  resounded 
on  the  memorable  third  of  May,  1791,  and 
also  the  28th  June,  1812,  when  the  General 
Confederation  of  Poland  was  organizing. 
She,  after  this,  traversed  the  great   hall 
composed  of  marble,  and  ornamented  with 
all  that  architecture  and  gilt  bronze  can 
offer  in  richness  and  elegance.     She  also 
visited    the     hall    of    reception,    decora- 
ted with  six   large    paintings,  by  Bacci- 
arelli,  representing  the  most  remarkable 
epochs  in  Polish  history,  and  also   with 
twenty-two^  busts,  in  black  marble,  of  il- 
lustrious characters  of  the  country. 


EMILY    PLATER.  87 

From  the  palace,  she  entered  the  cath- 
edral, knelt  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  and 
rehearsed  in  her  soul  the  many  Te  Deums 
and  other  songs  of  joy  and  thanksgiving 
which  had  resounded  under  its  vaults, 
in  the  celebration  of  the  victories  of  our 
ancestors.  It  was  there  the  victory 
of  Kluzyn,  won  by  Zolkiewski,  that  of  Kir- 
cholm,  by  Chodkiewicz,  as  well  as  those 
of  Chocim  and  of  Vienna,  by  Sobieski, 
were  celebrated.  But  the  object  which 
she  was  most  anxious  to  visit,  w^as  the 
ruin  of  the  JMoscovite  chapel.  Under  its 
vaults  were  reposing  the  ashes  of  those 
Tzars  of  Moscow,  whom  the  illustrious 
Zolkiewski  had  brought  thither  in  1611 
as  prisoners  of  war,  and  having  died  at 
Gostynin,  their  remains  were  there  depos- 
ited. In  the  year  1634,  king  Vladislas  IV. 
having  concluded  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
Moscow,  in  consequence  of  a  request  on 
the  part  of  the  Tzars,  gave  up  the  ashes 
of  Tchouisky.  Under  the  reign  of  Stan- 
islas Augustus,  Catharine  II.  having  sue- 


88  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

ceeded  to  the  throne  of  the  Tzars,  after 
having  placed  on  the  throne  of  Poland  an 
old  favorite  of  hers,  gave  positive  orders 
to  her  ambassador,  Repnine,  to  cause  the 
marble  tablets,  which  bore  the  records  of 
their  former  disaster,  to  be  broken  in 
pieces.  And  yet,  what  remained  of  these 
ancient  monuments  were  too  offensive  to 
the  Russian  government.  Alexander  and 
Catharine  hastened  to  demolish  the  last 
remaining  monuments  of  our  power,  as 
vrell  as  of  their  ancestor's  weakness  ;  as 
if  this  act  of  Vandalism  could  obliterate 
the  memory  of  these  events,  or  tear  a  glo- 
rious page  from  our  history.  What  a  mel- 
ancholy contrast  in  this  very  capital, 
where  two  centuries  ago  the  sovereigns  of 
Moscow  were  chained  to  the  triumphal 
cars  of  our  brave  Zolkiewski,  and  where 
now,  in  this  same  capital,  a  Russian  po- 
tentate wields  the  supreme  power  !  This 
barbarous  nation  now  treats  Poland  as  a 
conquered  country.  The  time  has  gone 
by  when  she  thought  herself  but  too  happy 


EMILY    PLATER.  89 

to  be  able  to  obtain,  for  her  sovereign,  a 
son  of  the  king  of  Poland. 

She  afterwards  visited  the  historical 
plains  of  Wola  Powonzki  the  Perc-la- 
chaise  of  Poland.  She  also  visited  the 
places  which  were  the  scene  of  the  seiz- 
ure and  carrying  off  of  Stanislas  Augus- 
tus. Her  soul  was  filled  with  indignation. 
She  could  not  forgive  to  Kuzma  the  pre- 
servation of  Catharine's  vile  instrument, — 
the  author  or  the  witness  of  the  dismem- 
berment and  overthrow  of  our  ancient  re- 
public. 

Praga  also  received  the  tribute  of  Em- 
ily's tears.  Praga,  the  suburb  of  War- 
saw, is  one  of  the  most  hallowed  places 
in  Poland,  and  it  is  one  which  Sowarow 
inundated  with  blood  ;  on  the  scene  of 
this  bloody  tragedy  did  she  offer  her  hum- 
ble prayers  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the 
universe  for  the  eternal  peace  of  Jazinski 
and  his  brave  companions  ;  and  at  the 
same  time,  she  implored  a  just  and  retri- 
butive vengeance  upon  their  murderers. 

8* 


90  LIFE    OF    THE    COUKTESS 

Emily  did  not  sojourn  long  in  Warsaw. 
No  one  ever  passed  through  Poland  with- 
out visiting  Pulaway — a  most  delightful 
location  and  magnificently  emhellished  by 
art.  The  treasures  of  science  were  amass- 
ed in  profusion  in  this  truly  great  and  royal 
place.  All  was  charming,  all  was  at- 
tractive to  the  curious,  travelling  for  in- 
struction as  well  as  amusement.  And  what 
is  it  now  ?  Nothing  but  a  heap  of  ruins. 
A  civilized  foe  would,  at  least,  have  spar- 
ed a  place  hallowed  by  so  many  recollec- 
tions; but  all  this  was  an  additional  in- 
centive to  destroy  and  to  overwhelm  with 
horrors.  It  was  even  a  grand-son  who 
gave  the  order  to  fire  on  the  palace  of  his 
ancestor  ; — it  was  the  Duke  of  Wiirtem- 
berg  who  ravaged  the  dominions  of  the 
princess  Czartoryska. 

Besides  the  beauties  of  nature  and  of 
art  which  invited  the  traveller  to  visit  Pul- 
away, this  place  possessed  a  further  at- 
traction, which,  for  a  Pole,  was  a  purely 
national   one.     In  this  place,  the  cnlight- 


EMILY    PLATER. 


91 


ened  patriotism  of  its  owners  had  care- 
fully collected  the  several  historical  frag- 
ments, and  all  the  traditions  of  our  ancient 
Poland  ;  and  had  preserved  in  this  Temple 
of  the  Sybil,  the  precious  remains  of  our 
ancestors.     In   that   Polish  Westminster 
reposed,  side  by  side,  the  protective  arm 
of  the  warrior  and  the  enlightened  head 
of  the  scholar.     There,  one  might  see  the 
bones  of  Boleslas  the  Great,  and  the  ashes 
of  Kopernik;   the   sword  of  Ladislas-le- 
Bref,  who   by   extraordinary  firmness  in 
misfortunes,  his  intrepidity  in  battle,  and 
his  clemency  on  the  throne,  saved  Poland, 
and  made  her  formidable  to  her  enemies. 
The  plain   writing  table  of  his  son  and 
successor,  whose  greatest  ambition  it  was 
to  deserve  the  title  of  king  to  his  people, 
and  on  whom  a  grateful  posterity  conferred 
the  name  of  Casimir  the  Great;  the  stand 
of  colors,  the  embroidery  of  which   was 
the  work  of  Hedwige's  own  hands,  and  per- 
haps the  very  one  under  which  she  rallied 
the  warriors   of  Poland  and  led  them  on 


92  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

to  victory  ;  some  monuments  of  Sigismond 
I.,  a  contemporary  and  the  equal  of 
Charles  V. ;  his  son's  portfolio,  containing 
the  portraits  of  his  beloved  sister  Isabella 
of  Hungary,  and  of  his  adored  wife  ;  that 
of  the  young  and  interesting  Barbara 
Radziwill,  who  found  inher  exalted  rank 
nothing  but  misfortune,  and,  at  last,  a  pre- 
mature death  ;  the  sword  of  Batory,  alas  ! 
too  soon  lost  to  Poland  ;  relics  of  the 
great  Zamoyski ;  the  baton  of  com- 
mand of  the  valiant  Czarnecki,  the  tro- 
phies won  from  the  infidels  by  Sobieski, 
w  ho,  although  a  great  w^arrior,  was  never- 
theless a  bad  king  ;  who  covered  Poland 
with  immortal  honor,  yet  hastened  its  ruin ; 
all  these  were  collected  at  Pulaway  and 
arranged  in  the  greatest  order — offering 
to  Poland's  children  living  testimonies  of 
what  their  ancestors  once  had  been.  They 
spoke  the  language  of  the  soul,  and  no  one, 
unless  destitute  of  patriotism  and  gener- 
ous sentiments,  could  look  at  them  with- 
out emotion.     Then  came  another  series 


EMILY    PLATER. 


93 


of  relics  of  more  modern,  but  no  less  glo- 
rious times — the  relics  of  suffering  Poland, 
which  has  been  fighting  for  more  than 
fifty  years,  in  order  to  regain  her  indepen- 
dence. 

The  constitution  of  the  3d  of  May,  the 
confederation  of  Bar,  and  the  wars  of  Bo- 
naparte, had  furnished  the  Temple  of  the 
Sybil  with  a  great  many  new  objects 
which  the  Poles  held  in  great  veneration, 
and  which  they  sometimes  wept  over.  All 
these  great  events  w^ere  there  typified  and 
recalled  to  the  memory  by  sacred  relics. 

There,  also,  might  be  seen  the  ivory 
and  ebony  vases,  the  construction  of  which 
beguiled  the  tediousness  of  Kosciuszko's 
long  captivity,  and  more  than  one  lance 
had  found  admission  into  this  sacred  de- 
pository for  having  sustained  the  splendor 
of  the  Polish  name,  even  at  a  time  when 
Poland  might  have  been  sought  for  in  vain 
on  the  map  of  the  world. 

The  Temple  of  the  Sybil,  although  a 
large  and  spacious  building,  was  never- 


94  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

tlieless  found  too  small  to  contain  all  the 
trophies  of  our  ancient  power,  and  display 
at  the  same  time  those  of  a  more  recent 
date.  The  owner  of  Pulaw^aywas  oblig- 
ed to  add  to  it  a  Gothic  building,  w^hich 
recalled  to  mind  many  recollections  of 
other  nations,  besides  those  of  Poland. 
Who  can  read  the  inscription,  which  stood 
above  the  portico,  without  a  hearty  res- 
ponse to  the  w^ish  expressed  by  it  1  Where 
is  the  Pole,  wdio  has  not  oftentimes,  from 
the  bottom  of  his  heart  and  with  solemnity, 
repeated  these  words  :  -''  ^'^ay,  f^ne  day^ 
our  victories  obliterate  even  tlie  remembrhncc 
of  our  misfortunes  P^ 

Those  wdiom  our  reverses  had  discour- 
aged, and  even  induced  to  despair  of  their 
country's  cause,  would  come  to  Pulaway 
to  restore  their  sinking  courage. 

Those  even  who,  inured  to  servitude, 
had  unhappily  forgotten  their  country's 
rights,  would  return  from  this  holy  pil- 
grimage ready  to  sacrifice,  not  only  tlie 
peace  of  their  home,  but  life  itself,  for  the 


EMILY    PLATER.  95 

salvation  of  Poland.  We  can  hardly  tell 
what  impression  all  these  produced  upon 
the  mind  of  Emily,  whose  wishes  and  de- 
signs all  concentred  in  the  recovery  of  Po- 
land's liberty  and  former  glory. 

Emily  returned  to  Lithuania  more  of  a 
Pole  than  ever.  Her  character  assumed 
a  stronger  cast,  less  subject  to  fears, 
and  more  masculine ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  a  melancholy  sadness  took  posses- 
sion of  her  mind,  and  developed  in  her  that 
pensive,  yet  seductive  grace,  which  never 
afterwards  deserted  her ;  the  religious 
principle,  which  had  been  early  instilled 
into  her,  took  still  stronger  root  in  her 
mind.  Before  her  journey,  she  would, 
sometimes,  mingle  with  her  companions  in 
their  several  amusements  ;  but  now,  she 
avoided  the  joyous  dance,  and  shunned 
every  kind  of  society  which  was  not  in 
sympathy  with  her  own  feelings.  She 
often  passed  whole  days  in  solitude,  with 
no  other  company  than  what  her  own 
thoughts  and  reveries  afforded  her.     And 


96  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

what  pleasures  could  the  present  offer 
to  one  who  lived  only  with  the  past  1 
How  could  she  descend  to  the  level  of  men 
W'ho  patiently  and  quietly  submitted  to  the 
yoke ;  she,  who  w^as  yet  full  of  the  recol- 
lections gathered  in  Poland,  and  of  new 
hopes  which  were  budding  in  her  soul  ? 


EMILY    PLATER.  97 


CHAPTER.    VI. 

Death  of  the  mother  of  Emily. — Her  fihal  piety. — She 
seeks  a  reconcihation  with  her  father. — Her  character, 
as  dehneated  by  her  cousin,  Mademoiselle  D  *  *  *, 

The  year  1830  brought  with  it,  to  the 
tender  and  affectionate  Emily,  a  heavy  af- 
fliction, in  the  loss  of  the  deeply  cherished 
object  of  all  her  earthly  affections.  Over- 
come by  misfortune,  rather  than  age,  her 
mother  was  taken  dangerously  ill.  Coun- 
try, ambition,  and  dreamsof  glory  were  all 
forgotten,  by  Emily,  as  soon  as  she  per- 
ceived her  mother's  life  to  be  in  danger. 
During  her  whole  illness,  Emily  never  left 
her  mother's  sick  bed  for  an  instant.  Day 
and  night,  seated  at  the  head  of  her  bed, 
she  watched  the  slightest  of  her  move- 
ments, and  endeavored  to  anticipate  the 
least  of  her  wishes,  and  would  not,  during 
the   whole  time,  allow  herself  any  rest. 

9 


98  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

The  poignancy  of  her  grief  increased  as 
the  symptoms  became  less  favorable ;  but 
she  endeavored  to  suppress  her  sobs  so  as 
not  to  alarm  her  dying  mother.  In  vain 
did  several  of  the  family,  apprehensive  of 
losing  the  daughter  as  well  as  the  mother, 
endeavor  to  prevail  upon  her  to  take  some 
rest: — '*'  Who,  better  than  a  daughter,  can 
attend  a  sick  mother  7"  would  be  her  reply, 
absolutely  declining,  at  the  same  time, 
their  kind  offices.  And  when,  almost 
dragged  away  by  force,  she  left  her  post 
for  a  few  minutes,  her  mother  was  pictur- 
ed to  her,  in  imagination,  in  the  grasp  of 
death  for  want  of  necessary  attention  ; 
shfe  immediately  returned  in  haste  to  the 
chamber,  to  calm  her  fears  at  the  bed  of 
sorrow,  from  which  nothing  could  after- 
wards induce  her  to  absent  herself,  even 
for  an  instant. 

Notwithstanding  the  unremitting  care 
of  her  daughter,  Madame  Plater,  at  length, 
sunk  under  her  protracted  ilhiess.  She 
was  highly  respected  for  her  nobleness  of 


EMILY    PLATER. 


99 


character,  and  her  many  virtues.  The 
sport  of  fortune,  from  her  infancy,  she  had 
little  desire  to  remain  in  a  world,  which 
had  afforded  her  so  few  happy  days.  Her 
only  regret,  in  quitting  it,  was  to  leave  her 
daughter's  happiness  in  such  a  state  of 
uncertainty.  With  her  dying  breath,  she 
consigned  her  poor  orphan  to  the  mater- 
nal care  of  Madame  Lieberg.  She  con- 
jured her  to  watch  over  Emily  as  her 
own  daughter.  She  then  blessed  her,  and 
gave  up  her  pure  spirit,  while  yet  in  the 
act  of  invoking  the  Supreme  Father  of 
the  orphan  in  behalf  of  her  daughter. 

Weak  minds  alone  sink  under  the 
weight  of  their  grief,  and  seek  relief  in 
tears  ;  while  a  strong  mind  will  repress  it, 
without  subjecting  itself  even  to  the  sus- 
picion of  insensibility;  such  grief  is  the 
more  consuming  as  it  is  altogether  inter- 
nal. Emily  manifested  but  few  signs  of 
grief  at  the  death  of  her  mother,  but  a 
deep  sorrow  was  undermining  her  health. 
But  religion  came  to  her  aid  in  this  emer- 


100  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

gency.  In  confronting  death,  nothing  can 
be  more  comforting,  or  have  a  more  povv-  ' 
erful  effect,  than  the  sentiment  which  di- 
rects our  thoughts  to  a  better  life,  beyond 
the  grave.  Perfectly  resigned,  and  repress- 
ing every  mark  of  sorrow,  she  in  person 
superintended  the  funeral  obsequies,  deter- 
mined that  nothing  should  be  wanting  in 
these  august  solemnities ;  and  shortly  after 
caused  a  modest  monument  to  be  erected 
over  thatgrave  which  contained  her  earthly 
treasure.  To  this  spot  would  she  every 
day  repair,  to  sprinkle  it  with  fresh  flow- 
ers, and  address  her  humble  prayer  to  hea- 
ven for  the  eternal  peace  of  her  mother. 
This  sad  event  entirely  crushed  her 
spirit,  and  the  wound  which  it  inflicted 
was  never  completely  healed,  but  bled 
afresh  at  the  slightest  recollection  of  it. 
Several  months  afterwards,  Emily,  in  the 
midst  of  the  din  of  the  camp,  entirely  de- 
voted to  her  country,  seemed  to  live  but 
for  Poland.  But  when  her  mind  recurred 
to  her  mother,  she  would  seek  to  meditate 


EMILY    PLATER.  101 

in  solitude,  if  possible,  for  the  rest  of  the 
day. 

From  the  moment  of  her  mother's  death, 
Emily  felt  that  her  heart  was  nothing  but  a 
vast  desert.  Possessed  of  an  affectionate 
disposition,  she  felt  the  need  of  some  object 
upon  which  she  might  fix  her  affections. 
She  addressed  herself  to  her  father, 
whom  she  scarcely  knew,  and  who  had 
been  separated  from  her  mother  in  early 
life,  and  had  lived  faraway  from  his  family, 
without  cultivating  with  them  the  slight- 
est intercourse. 

She,  for  some  time  previous,  had  devo- 
ted to  his  own  use  all  the  small  savings 
her  means  and  position  in  society  w^ould 
permit  her  to  lay  up.  Now,  that  she  had 
the  sole  control  of  her  destiny,  she  wished 
to  be  near  him.  She,  at  times,  fancied 
him  sufferinsr  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  with- 
out  any  one  to  console  him,  and  entirely 
abandoned  to  the  precarious  attendance 
of  strangers.  She  would  have  looked  up- 
on herself  as  criminal,  had  she  hesitated 

9* 


102  LIFE    OF    THE    COtNTESS 

longer ;  she  therefore  left  Lixna  for  Lith- 
uania. She  used  her  best  endeavor  to  ob- 
tain an  interview,  but  without  the  least 
success.  She  had  the  aiHiction  of  seeing 
all  her  advances  repelled.  She  ought 
certainly  to  have  renounced,  at  once, 
her  favorite  hope  of  devoting  her  days,  as 
well  as  her  fortune,  to  the  welfare  of  her 
father,  but  no ; — she  interested  in  her  fa- 
vorite plan  several  friends  of  the  family, 
and  retired  to  the  residence  of  one  of  her 
aunts,  at  Antuzow,  to  await  the  result  of 
her  efforts. 

It  was  at  this  place  the  news  of  the 
insurrection  of  1830  reached  her,  to  invite 
her  to  more  glorious  undertakings. 

Her  moral  sufferings  had  impaired  her 
health.  Sea-bathing  was  prescribed,  and 
she  repaired  to  Libau.  The  city  of  Libau 
(Lipawa)  is  situated  on  the  coast  of  the 
Baltic,  in  Courland,  and  is  much  frequent- 
ed by  the  Lithuanians,  the  Samogitians, 
and  the  Livonians.  During  the  fine  season, 
sea-bathing  is  productive  of  excellent  ef- 


EMILY    PLATER.  103 

fects  OH  the  health  of  its  visitors.  On  one 
of  those  beautiful  days,  common  to  that 
climate,  the  visitors  at  Libau  formed  a 
party  for  a  sea  excursion.  Among  many 
other  officers  of  the  Russian  army,  was 
Gen.  K.,  a  native  of  Courland.  The  free- 
dom and  mutual  confidence  which  gener- 
ally prevailed  on  su.ch  occasions,  led  him 
to  allude  to,  or  rather  indiscreetly  reveal, 
a  piece  of  information  which,  till  that  time, 
he  had  kept  a  profound  secret.  He  pro- 
duced French  letters  and  French  jour- 
nals, which  furnished  a  minute  account 
of  the  memorable  scenes  of  July.  Emily 
Plater  felt  the  importance  of  them,  and 
thought  she  foresaw,  in  this  event,  the  fu- 
ture liberation  of  her  country.  This  news 
remained  engraved  upon  her  mind  and 
heart,  and  knowing  the  proofs  of  courage 
displayed  by  the  Parisians,  they  received 
her  full  admiration.  From  this  moment, 
she  eagerly  embraced  politics.  All  that 
she  could  learn  in  respect  to  the  Belgian 
revolution,  as  well  as  the  popular  move- 


104  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

ments  in  other  countries  of  F.urope,  raised 
her  spirits  to  the  highest  pitch.  On  the 
future  destiny  of  Poland,  concentrated  all 
her  ideas ;  and  the  energies  of  her  mind 
full  well  informed  her,  that  she  could  not 
remain  indifferent  to  the  new  destiny  of 
her  glorious  country. 

Here  ends  the  private  life  of  Emily 
Plater  ;  and  as  such  it  is  the  life  of  a  wo- 
man scarcely  known,  passed  in  peace  and 
retirement,  and  leaving  no  remembrance 
but  in  the  hearts  of  a  few  friends,  and  the 
casual  recollections  of  her  neighbors.  But 
from  this  time  she  belongs  to  history, 
which  will  bear  an  impartial  record  of  her 
Sflorious  deeds  during  our  late  revolution. 
But,  before  entering  upon  this  second  epoch 
of  her  life,  which  is  by  far  the  most  bril- 
liant, and  which  is  the  particular  object  of 
our  labors,  I  feel  that  I  ought  to  furnish 
a  faithful  portrait  of  her,  simply  as  a  wo- 
man ;  and  I  cannot  do  this  better  than  by 
permitting  her  cousin,  and  earliest  friend, 
to  present  her  views  of  Emily's  character 


EMILY    PLATER.  105 

in  her  own  language.  The  following  is  a 
letter  sent  to  me  by  Mademoiselle  D  *  *  *, 
in  answer  to  one  of  my  own  addressed  to 
her,  requesting  some  particulars  respect- 
ing Emily's  early  life  and  character. 

"  She  would  never  act  like  other  young 
persons  of  her  own  sex,  their  games  and 
amusements  havinsr  no  attractions  for  her. 
She  detested  balls  and  fine  dress.  She 
always  selected  for  the  color  of  her  dress, 
when  the  choice  was  left  to  her,  a  dark 
color  and  generally  black.  Emily  was  nat- 
urally timid,  but  she  knew  how  to  conquer 
this  timidity.  When  engaged  in  riding, 
she  took  pride  in  her  falls,  and  would  re- 
mount her  steed  to  brave  new  dangers,  and 
afterwards  spoke  of  such  incidents  with 
great  satisfaction.  Her  favorite  amuse- 
ments were  to  wander  in  a  sledge  in  the 
woods  or  over  the  ice  of  the  Dzwina,  in 
quest  of  imaginary  dangers,  and  to  shoot 
at  a  mark.  Her  writing  table  was  not 
covered  with  the  elegant  trifles  which 
usually  surround  young  persons,  but  with 


106  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

mathematical  books  and  instruments. 
She  also  had  several  works  on  celebrated 
women  of  all  ages,  which  she  perused  and 
reperused  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 

•"  Her  closet  was  adorned  with  the  por- 
traits of  Joan  d'Arc,ofPoniatowski,ofKos- 
ciuszko,  and  Bobelina.  Notwithstanding 
her  ardent  admiration  of  all  that  is  great 
and  glorious,  she  possessed  an  excessive 
sensibility,  the  expression  of  which  she 
always  avoided,  lest  it  should  detract  from 
her  love  of  glory. 

"  She  must  have  been  well  aware  that 
her  father  had  never  appreciated  the  mer- 
its of  her  mother  ;  nevertheless  she  loved 
him,  and  transmitted  to  him  her  small  in- 
come, although  she  never  had  received 
from  him  the  slightest  mark  of  attachment. 
She  was  the  joy  and  solace  of  her  moth- 
er, whom  she  loved  with  the  fullest  affec- 
tion. For  children,  as  well  as  the  poor, 
she  always  felt  a  deep  interest. 

"  Although  she  repressed  every  exhi- 
bition of  tenderness  of  feeling,  and  would 


EMILY    PLATER,  107 

have  preferred  the  appearance  of  insensi- 
bility to  that  of  weakness,  yet  she  was 
compassionate,  and  no  one  more  sincerely 
sympathized  with  the  afflictions  or  the 
prosperity  of  those  who  possessed  her  af- 
fections. Free  from  selfishness,  her  heart 
was  suspicious  to  such  a  degree,  that  her 
distrust  surpassed,  if  possible,  the  decep- 
tion of  the  generality  of  mankind  ;  at  the 
same  time,  her  open  frankness  could  not 
have  been  surpassed  :  never  has  the  least 
dissimulation  tarnished  her  character. 
She  was  so  lofty  in  her  thoughts  that  her 
ideas  were,  sometimes,  mistaken  for  ego- 
tism. Often  has  her  candor  brought  upon 
her  the  ill  will  of  many,  for  she  was  brief 
and  even  rude,  to  those  who  were  disagree- 
able to  her.  Although  aware  of  this  feel- 
ing, if  it  may  be  so  called,  she  either  could 
not,  or  would  not  conquer  it. 

"  Having  very  little  taste  for  the  society 
of  those  of  her  own  age,  she  formed  an  in- 
timate acquaintance  with  one  of  her  neigh- 
bors who  was  her  senior.     She  would  pa- 


108  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

tiently  listen  to  advice  dictated  by  experi- 
ence, not  however  to  follow  it  implicitly, 
but  in  order  to  be  able  the  better  to  dis- 
cuss the  difference  of  opinions.  Not  only 
would  she  never  be  offended  when  told  of 
her  faults,  but  would  insist  on  being  in- 
formed of  such  as  might  be  discovered  in 
her  conduct.  If  she  ever  excused  any  fault 
in  herself,  it  w  as  only  to  prove  that  it  had 
been  committed  unintentionally. 

Her  temper  was  naturally  variable ; 
she  might,  therefore,  have  been  inclined  to 
gayety.  But  she  w^ould  have  subdued  this 
propensity,  even  if  she  had  possessed  it, 
asunw^orthy  that  gravity  which  she  thought 
more  suitable  to  that  vague  futurity,  which 
was  the  subject  of  her  reveries,  without 
offering  any  definite  object  to  her  wishes. 

"  Although  she  believed  her  heart  in- 
capable of  love,  yet  her  conduct  was  influ- 
enced by  an  instinctive  prudence,  which 
would  never  allow  her  to  forget  her  duty. 
Had  she  ever  married,  no  view  to  ambi- 
tion, neither  birth  nor  fortune,  w  ould  have 


#k     EMILY    PLATER.  109 

in  the  least,  determined  her  choice.  The 
disinterested  inclination  of  her  own  heart 
would  have  been  her  only  guide,  and  she 
would  have  loved  with  the  deepest  pas- 
sion. 

"  The  attention  of  young  people  is 
generally  directed  to  objects  of  luxury, 
dress  and  fashion  ;  but  with  Emily  it  was 
not  so.  Scarcely  any  thing  but  arms  ever 
engaged  her  serious  attention.  Her  pis- 
tols always  lay  upon  her  writing-table, 
and  she  took  care  of  her  own  horse.  Al- 
though of  delicate  constitution  naturally, 
she  never  spared  it,  being  in  the  hope  of 
inuring  it  to  toil  and  labor. 

"  Although  possessing  all  the  sensibili- 
ty of  her  sex,  with  an  unbounded  devoted- 
ness  to  the  few  individuals  for  whom  she 
felt  any  attachment,  she  was  never  subject 
to  the  capricious  fancy  of  her  sex.  She 
was  ever  ready  to  give  proof  of  her  attach- 
ment, even  at  the  risk  of  incurring  the 
censure  of  public  opinion,  which,  by  the 
way,  she  little  cared  for,  as  the  only  guide 

10 


110  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 


she  ever  followed  was  her  conscience. 
The  most  glorious  event  of  our  time  has 
developed  all  the  energy  of  a  character 
which  no  domestic  felicity  could  ever  have 
satisfied. 

"  She  possessed  great  knowledge  of  hu- 
man nature,  which  she  was  fond  of  study- 
ing and  thoroughly  examining.  She  took 
particular  delight  in  unvailing,  as  it  were, 
the  mysteries  of  the  soul,  and  analyzing 
man,  and  ascertaining  the  25rM?2imi  mobile 
of  his  actions.  She  wished  to  raise  that 
vail,  behind  which  egotism  and  meanness 
are  wont  to  screen  tliemselves ;  and  she 
was  astonished  to  find  how  small  the  num- 
ber who  could  stand  such  a  test  without 
losing  much  in  her  estimation."  • 


EMILY    PLATER.  Ill 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Summary  of  Polish  events.— Revolution  of  the  29th  of 

November. 

A  REVOLUTION  was  about  to  break  out 
in  Poland.  The  indefatigable  labors  of 
the  Patriotic  Association,  as  well  as  the 
inveterate  hatred  the  Poles  have  always 
fostered  for  their  oppressors,  rendered  this 
revolution  unavoidable,  and  the  French 
revolution  of  July  accelerated  the  event. 

On  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  the  Dutchy  of 
Warsaw,  like  an  apple  of  discord,  was,  as 
it  were,  thrown  amongst  the  kings  who 
were  all  anxious  to  share  the  spoils  of  the 
great  conqueror.  Prussia  and  Austria  as- 
serted the  priority  of  their  claims — claims 
having  only  rapine  and  violence  for  their 
foundation. 

Russia,  whose  favorite  plan  it  is  to  en- 
large her  European  possessions,   availed 


112  LIFE  OF  THE  COUNTESS 

herself  of  the  advantage  of  actual  occupa- 
tion, and  appeared,  by  no  means,  willing 
to  relinquish  her  prey.  Diplomatic  agen- 
cy was  in  full  activity,  and  unable  to  con- 
ciliate so  many  chishing  claims,  adopted  a 
middle  course,  and  yielded  to  the  demands 
of  the  cabinet  of  St.  Petersburg.  But  in 
this  very  concession  were  the  germs  of  fu- 
ture difficulties,  which  were  to  obstruct 
the  course  of  her  ambition,  and  place  her 
in  a  position  absolutely  false.  The  Con- 
gress of  Vienna,  in  the  plenitude  of  its  wis- 
dom, decreed  that  Poland  should  be  erect- 
ed into  a  kingdom,  whose  crown  was  to 
adorn  the  head  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia, 
and  should  have  a  constitutional  form  of 
government,  under  a  sovereign  who  never 
knew  any  other  law,  all  over  his  vast  em- 
pire, but  his  own  will,  and  who,  in  the  title 
of  king  of  Poland,  saw  merely  a  single  ad- 
dition to  the  long  list  of  his  numerous  sove- 
reignties. This  is  the  same  kingdom 
which  the  mean  policy  of  the  European 
cabinets  recognize,  at  this  day,  as  a  legal 


EMILY    PLATER.  113 

one,  and  in  behalf  of  which  they  have  ven- 
tured to  submit  a  few  feeble  and  humble 
remonstrances  ;  as  if  a  congress  of  all  the 
kings  of  Europe  had  the  right  to  sanction 
an  act  which  the  people,  not  only  would  not 
saction,  but  also  would  reject  with  indig- 
nation. 

The  Poles,  conquered  with  Napoleon, 
in  submitting  to  the  decision  of  the  con- 
querors, earnestly  protested  against  this 
iniquitous  act  of  the  Holy  Alliance.  They 
had  not  made,  since  1795,  so  many  sacri- 
fices, they  had  not  lavished,  for  a  period  of 
twenty  years,  so  much  blood  and  treasure, 
and  all  for  the  mere  shadow  of  a  country 
destitute  of  political  existence,  a  real  slav- 
ery under  the  specious  vail  of  liberty — a 
liberty  as  precarious  as  illusory,  and  whol- 
ly subject  to  the  caprices  of  a  despot.  Pa- 
triotic associations  were  everywhere  or- 
ganized, and  preparations  made  to  resist 
this  persecution;  it  was  these  associations 
which,  at  a  later  period,  brought  about  the 
revolution  of  the  29th  of  November.     The 

10* 


114  LIFE    OP    THE    COUNTESS 

first  idea  of  these  associations  is  due  to 
Dombrowski.     This  veteran  of  our  liberty, 
who    had  brought  off  the  remains  of  the 
white  eagle,  and  thus  prolonged  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Polish  nation,  under  the  tents 
of  the   fraternal  French,   groaned  at  the 
condition  of  a  country  which  he  had  ima- 
gined free,  powerful  and  glorious.  He  saw 
with  grief  that    it  was  in  vain  to  reckon 
upon  the  help  of  other  people,  or  to  intrust 
the   safety  of  the   country  to    the  selfish 
policy  of  foreigners. — Napoleon,   who  set 
up  as  many  kingdoms  as  he  had  brothers, 
what  had  he   done  for  Poland,  in  return 
for  the  blood  of  two   hundred  thousand 
Poles,  who  had  perished  in  the  service  of 
France  1     And,  as  to  the  kingdom  which 
he  had  erected,  where  was  the  guarantee 
for  the  permanence  of  its  existence  and  in- 
stitutions?    Who   could   assure   us   from 
day  to  day  that  the  capricious  will  of  this 
master  would  not  violate,  or  abolish,  even 
that  constitution  which   he  deigned  to  be- 
stow upon  us,  the  better  to  entrap  and  de- 


EMILY    PLATER.  115 

stroy  US?  Having  nothing,  therefore, 
either  to  hope  or  to  fear  from  others,  it  was 
necessary  to  turn  to  the  advantage  of  the 
nation  that  valor  which  had  contributed, 
for  so  long  a  time,  to  the  glory  and  power 
of  foreigners.  The  ancient  energies  of 
Poland  must  be  aroused,  which,  in  order  to 
be  strong  and  powerful,  needed  but  to 
have  confidence  in  its  own  strength.  The 
dying  flame  of  patriotism  must  be  revived 
in  all  hearts,  in  order  that  Poland  may, 
one  day,  recover  for  itself  its  lost  power. 

Such  were  the  patriotic  sentiments  of 
the  good  and  virtuous  Dombrowski  in  1818. 
Intrusted  to  a  few^  patriotic  friends,  they 
did  not  fall  into  a  barren  soil,  and  soon  the 
national  freemasonry  hastened  to  carry 
into  effect  these  ideas,  and  it  brought  a 
strong  hand  to  the  work. 

The  association  was  organized  upon  a 
vast  and  powerful  plan,  secretly  pervading 
the  whole  country,  and  numbering,  among 
its  members,  all  that  was  noble  and  patri- 
otic in  the  land  ;  its   ramifications,  in  the 


116  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

invaded  provinces,  w^ere  numerous,  and  it 
had  at  its  disposal,  not  only  the  moral  and 
physical  strength  of  the  whole  people,  but 
also  a  vast  capital,  which  the  devotedness 
of  the  members  of  this  association  had 
taken  care  to  provide.  The  nobility  over- 
coming ancient  prejudices,  and  trampling, 
as  it  were,  upon  its  own  privileges,  entered 
commerce,  and  thus  prepared  the  way  for 
that  desirable  state  of  equality  between 
the  two  great  classes  of  the  community, 
the  nobles  and  the  plebeians,  which,  not- 
withstanding, are  still  kept  asunder  in  Po- 
land by  a  strong  line  of  demarcation.  The 
national  spirit  was  roused,  the  fire  of  pat- 
riotism was  enkindled  in  all  hearts,  and 
the  country,  undermined  in  every  direc- 
tion, was  insensibly  preparing  itself  for  the 
great  work  of  its  political  regeneration. 
Arms  were  prepared;  at  the  appointed 
hour,  every  one  was  to  be  at  liis  post,  and 
Poland  was  to  regain  its  freedom. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander, but  too  soon  realizing  the  fears  of 


EMILY    PLATER. 


117 


the  brave  Dombrowski,  hastened  to  de- 
clare open  war  against  free  institutions, 
and  commenced  by  violating  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  kingdom.  The  destruction  of 
the  freedom  of  the  press,  the  establishment 
of  the  censorship,  arbitrary  banishment, 
the  erecting  of  special  tribunals  for  the 
trial  of  all  cases  between  citizens  and  the 
government,  taxes  laid  upon  the  nation  by 
simple  ordinances,  all  signalized  the  march 
of  absolutism.  The  diet  of  1820  energet- 
ically protested  against  these  flagrant  vio- 
lations of  the  charter,  and  strongly  and 
vigorously  opposed  these  new  outrages  of 
a  perjured  government.  But  Alexander 
knew  how  to  rid  himself  of  an  obstinate 
and  intractable  chamber,  and  this  legal  op- 
position served  but  to  irritate  the  Autocrat, 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  a  blind  obe- 
dience on  the  part  of  his  Russian  subjects. 
He  even  thought,  atone  time,  of  annihila- 
ting the  constitutional  kingdom,  which  was 
a  great  obstacle  to  him  in  the  exercise  of 
his  power  ;  and,  in  order  to  sound  the  peo- 


118  LIFE    OP    THE    COUNTESS 

pie,  he  caused  to  be  published,  in  1821,  a 
rescript,  in  which,  after  having  made  an 
expose  of  the  bad  state  of  the  Polish  finan- 
ces, he  proceeded  to  say  :  That  the  time 
had  at  last  arrived,  when  it  must  be  de- 
cided whether  the  kingdom  could  support 
itself  by  its  own  resources,  or  whether  it 
ought  not,  after  having  come  to  a  con- 
sciousness of  its  lack  of  means  in  this  re- 
spect, to  submit  to  an  established  order  of 
things  better  conformed  to  its  limited  re- 
sources. A  general  cry  of  indignation 
Convinced  him  that  his  project  would  have 
met  with  a  very  powerful  resistance,  and 
that  the  time  for  striking  a  decided  blow 
had  not  yet  arrived. 

Besides,  Alexander  as  a  crafty  and  ex- 
pert politician,  knew  precisely  when  to 
stop,  and  in  battering  down  the  liberties  of 
Poland,  he  would  carefully  avoid  any  act, 
which  could  possibly  alarm  the  nation 
and  reduce  her  to  a  state  of  despair.  Dur- 
ing his  life,  therefore,  the  patriotic  associa- 
tions merely  took  measures  to  repel,  open- 


EMILY    PLATER.  119 

ly,  the  attacks  of  despotism,  but  were  ever 
on  the  watch  for  more  favorable  circum- 
stances to  unfurl  the  standard  of  freedom ; 
and  this  policy  was  the  more  necessary,  as, 
on  account  of  the  peace  generally  prevail- 
ing throughout  the  earth  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  reign  of  this  monarch,  he  would 
have  been  enabled  to    bring  the  whole 
weight  of  his    power  upon  Poland,  and 
thereby  crush  her  by    an   overwhelming 
force.     Moreover,  the  Polish  patriotic  so-   ' 
ciety  thought  it  best  to  await  the  result  of 
the  operations  of  the  patriotic  society  of 
slaves  in  the  interior  of  Russia,  with  which 
society  they  considered  their  own  connect- 
ed by  the  ties  of  a  common  interest.     For 
even  in  the    interior    of    Russia,    ardent 
minds,  inimical    to  despotism,  were  en- 
gaged in  secret  movements;    there,  even, 
conspiracies  were  for^ling,  and  even  in  the 
bosom  of  the  most  hideous  slavery,  the 
most  shameful  barbarity,  plots  were  weav- 
ing in  favor  of  the  liberty  of  the  people  and 
the  well-being  of  the  nation. 


120  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

The  excursion  made  by  the  Russians 
into  France,  on  the  downfall  of  Napoleon, 
and  their  long  sojourn  there,  were  not 
without  benefit  to  them.  Seeing,  in  this 
country,  the  people  happy  and  free,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  rights,  and  governed  by 
laws  which  were  humane,  wise  and  rea- 
sonable, they  envied  these  blessings  of  civil- 
ization, and  wished  to  transfer  them  into 
their  own  country,  where  the  state  of  slav- 
ery and  misery  were  truly  revolting  to 
them,  when  compared  with  the  state  of 
prosperity  enjoyed  by  other  nations.  In 
the  first  place,  they  united  their  eflbrts  for 
the  melioration  of  the  agricultural  and  in- 
dustrial classes ;  this  is  evident  from  the 
title  of  the  society  which  bore  the  name  of 
the  Benevolent  Society^  or  that  of  the 
Green  Book.  But  a  more  profound  know- 
ledge of  their  count^-y,  and  of  the  obstacles 
which  were  opposed  to  them,  soon  con- 
vinced them  that  the  root  of  the  evil  was 
in  the  vicious  constitution  of  the  monarchy 
itself;  and  that,  without  that  liberty  which 


EMILY    PLATER.  121 

was  the  vital  principle  of  a  people,  no 
scheme  of  amelioration  would  be  practi- 
cable. They,  therefore,  extended  their 
views,  and  resolved  to  break  the  rusty 
sceptre  of  absolutism,  and  bestow  upon 
Russia  a  constitution,  formed  upon  the 
model  of  the  fullest  natural  and  individual 
liberty. 

The  principal  strength  of  the  reigning 
family  lay  in  the  army,  which  was  reduc- 
ed to  a  state  of  blind  subordination,  and 
the  chief  officers  of  which,^for  the  most  part 
foreigners  and  without  country,  w^ere  influ- 
enced by  no  higher  motive  than  that  of 
serving  him  who  paid  them  best.  The  lib- 
erals of  Russia  then  sought,  by  every  pos- 
sible means,  to  utterly  destroy,  or  at  least 
to  render  useless,  the  chief  support  of  the 
reigning  family  ;  and  for  this  purpose,  as 
the  surest  and  most  effectual  means,  they 
undertook  to  form  a  strong  body  of  parti- 
sans, in  the  very  bosom  of  the  army,  and 
in  this  they  succeeded.  Soon  there  exist- 
ed two  great  associations,  which  were  or- 

U 


122  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

ganized,  one  in  the  southern,  the  other  in 
the  northern,  part  of  the  empire ;  both 
were  bound  by  the  same  oath  and  had  in 
view  the  same  end. 

Col.  Pestel,  chief  of  the  southern  soci- 
ety, found  himself,  by  his  position,  brought 
into  close  contact  with  the  former  Polish 
provinces,  and  was  not  slow  in  effecting 
communication  with  the  patriots  of  the 
country.  Acknowledging  the  flagrant  in- 
justice done  to  Poland,  he  promised  to  re- 
store to  it  all  the  provinces  which  were  not 
yet  Russified  ;*  and  the  Poles,  on  their 
part,  agreed  to  act  in  concert  with  him, 
and  to  aid  the  Russian  liberals,  at  the 
proper  moment,  in  the  great  work  of  the 
regeneration  of  the  immense  empire  of  the  • 
Czars.  The  revolution,  embracing  a  vast 
plan,  was  in  one  day  to  embrace  all  Rus- 
sia, and  to  render  her  free,  almost  in  spite 
of  herself. 

A    traitor,    unfortunately,    insinuated 
himself  into  their  ranks.     He  denounced 
*  Pestel's  own  expression. 


EMILY    PLATER.  123 

to  the  Emperor  the  secret  designs  of  the 
society,  and  gave  him  a   complete  list  of 
the  conspirators.     Amazed  at  the  gigantic 
strides  of  liberal  opinions,  and  at  the  great 
projects  in  agitation,   together  with  the 
powerful    means    possessed  for  carrying 
them  into  effect,   the   Czar  did  not  dare, 
at  first,  to  make  an  open  and  direct  attack 
upon  the  conspiracy,  which  extended  its 
ramifications  into  the  most  distant  provin- 
ces   of  his   vast  empire.     His  timid  and 
wavering  disposition   would  not  admit  of 
bold  decision ;  a  powerful  blow  was  with 
him  impossible.     He  was  not  the  man  to 
conquer  the  enemy  by  prompt  action  and 
at  a  single  blow.     Relying,  then,  on  the 
craftiness  of  his  policy,  he  limited  himself 
to  neutralizing  the  influence  of  the  accus- 
ed, a  list  of  which  he  carefully  kept  in  his 
port-folio ;  to  this  end  lie,  under  various 
pretexts,  deprived  them  of  the  command 
of  the  troops,  and  confided  it  to  the  hands 
of  his  trusty  friends,  on  whom  he  was  per- 
fectly sure  he  could  rely. 


124  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

Alexander  died.  Nicholas  was  about 
to  take  possession  of  the  power  wliich 
Constantino  had  relinquished,  some  years 
before,  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  a  mar- 
riasre  with  Jean  Grudzinska.  This  was 
the  favorable  moment  for  action.  The 
new  emperor  must  be  hurled  from  the 
throne,  before  firmly  seated  upon  it ;  or 
rather  he  must  not  be  permitted  to  mount 
it  at  all.  So  favorable  an  occasion  would 
not,  for  a  long  time,  again  present  itself, 
and  it  was  resolved  to  profit  by  it.  The 
liberals  of  St.  Petersburg  commenced  the 
attack,  and  thus  gave  the  signal  for  the 
rest.  But,  unhappily,  they  placed,  by  far, 
too  great  reliance  upon  the  mass  of  the 
people,  who  were  not  yet  sufficiently  ad- 
vanced in  civilization  to  feel  the  need  or 
the  value  of  liberty.  Rileieff  was  also 
guilty  of  an  unpardonable  fault,  in  hasten- 
ing the  explosion  without  previously  giving 
the  chief  of  the  southern  society  informa- 
tion of  it.  Consequently  the  revolution,  in- 
stead of  being  general,  was  only  in  part, 


EMILY    PLATER.  125 

and  thus  furnished  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
the  means  of  suppressing  it  in  detail. 

The  emeute,  the  rebellion,  for  so  an  un- 
successful revolution  is  termed,  the  emeute 
of  St.  Petersburg  having  thus  miscarried, 
the  arrest  of  all  the  liberals  became  an 
easy  matter,  and  they  were  prosecuted 
with  the  utmost  rigor,  under  the  firm  reso- 
lution of  not  permitting  a  single  one  to  es- 
cape. It  was  a  pestilence  of  which  the 
soil  of  the  empire  must  be  thoroughly  purg- 
ed, inasmuch  as  it  was  of  a  contagious  cha- 
racter. The  judicial  investigations  proved 
that  they  were  connected  with  the  Polish 
patriots,  and  the  order  was  issued  to  pursue 
the  patriotic  society.  In  the  execution  of 
this  order,  more  than  two  hundred  persons 
were  arrested  in  Poland.  A  special  com- 
mission, composed  of  Russians  and  Poles, 
commenced  their  inquiries.  But  whether 
the  secret  had  been  religiously  kept  by  the 
accused,  or  that  the  connections  of  the 
Russian  liberals  did  not  extend  to  the 
kingdom  of  Poland,  but  were  limited  to  the 

11* 


126  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

invaded  provinces;  true  it  is  the  commis- 
sion found  no  trace  of  a  plot,  and  in  its  re- 
port to  the  Emperor,  contented  itself  with 
denouncing,  in  vague  terms,  the  existence 
of  a  secret  society,  organized  without  the 
consent  or  knowledge  of  the  police.  This 
report  incensed  Nicholas,  who  really  wish- 
ed to  seize  upon  the  guilty,  for  the  mere 
gratification  of  punishing  them.  He  blam- 
ed the  commission,  and  sent  eight  of  the 
principal  ones  accused  to  the  tribunal  of 
the  Diet,  the  only  court  having  jurisdiction 
over  crimes  of  state. 

Nicholas,  however,  deceived  himself, 
in  his  expectation  of  finding  in  the  supreme 
court  of  the  kingdom,  men  base  enough  to 
become  the  tools  of  his  vengeance,  or  weak 
enough  to  be  intimidated  by  his  power. 
Notwithstanding  the  organization  of  this 
tribunal,  and  the  mode  of  its  proceedings, 
were  1  he  work  of  his  arbitrary  power ;  not- 
withstanding, too,  the  censure  cast  upon 
the  preceding  commission,  and  intimations, 
by  other  means,  clearly  showed  what  was 


EMILY    PLATER.  127 

the  wish  of  the  Emperor,  out  of  forty  mem- 
bers composing  the  tribunal,  only  one 
proved  himself  unworthy  of  the  name  he 
disgraced.  All  the  others,  including  their 
venerable  president  Bielinski,  declared  the 
accused  not  guilty.  Constantine,  highly 
incensed,  arrested  the  publication  of  the 
judgment;  and  it  was  not  until  after  a  de- 
lay of  six  months  that  Nicholas  ordered  it 
to  be  put  in  execution,  accompanying  his 
order  with  the  expression  of  his  severe  dis- 
approbation of  the  conduct  of  the  highest 
national  court,  excepting  from  his  censure, 
only  one — the  base  and  infamous  traitor, 
Krasinski,  who  alone  had  pronounced  the 
accused  guilty. 

The  deplorable  end  of  the  Russian  lib- 
erals, and  the  persecutions  which  for  three 
years  threatened  the  members  of  the  pat- 
riotic society  in  Poland,  disorganized  their 
plans,  and  occasioned  a  delay  of  the  revo- 
lution. 

Notwithstanding,  far  from  being  cast 
down  by  these  persecutions,  the  associates 


128  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

again  united,  and  applied  themselves  with 
still  greater  zeal  for  the  accomplishment 
of  the  grand  work;  they,  howev^er,  endea- 
vored to  be  more  on  their  guard,  and  to 
enshroud  tlieir  movements  in  still  greater 
secrecy.  In  the  mean  time,  nothing  ap- 
peared to  favor  their  efforts  in  the  politi- 
cal world ;  and  Europe,  involved  in  lethar- 
gy, seemed  to  offer  them  no  point  of  sup- 
port. There  was  no  star,  in  their  horizon, 
which  could  serve  them  as  a  guide  in  their 
march  to  independence,  and  all  the  forces 
the  nation  could  possibly  muster,  were 
insufficient  to  act  against  the  innumerable 
masses  of  all  the  Russias. 

Austria  and  Prussia,  as  parties  to  the 
dismemberment  of  Poland,  were  too  much 
interested  in  the  utter  annihilation  of  its 
nationality,  ever  to  consent  to  favor  the 
operations  of  the  patriots.  England,  ex- 
hausted by  her  long  wars  against  Napo- 
leon, was  taking  her  rest,  after  a  victorv 
which  had  loaded  her  with  opprobrium 
and  enormous  debts.     France,  weary  of 


EMILY    PLATER.  129 

glory,  was  also  reposing  after  her  long  and 
terrible  convulsions,  her  numerous  battles 
and  her  brilliant  victories  ;  and  under  the 
shade  of  a  new  throne.  Since  1815,  she 
had  exhibited  but  one  single  sign  of  life, 
and  that  was  to  crush,  in  Spain,  the  liber- 
ty which  had  once  more  raised  its  head 
there ;  and,  moreover,  France  is  too  dis- 
tant. 

The  popular  associations,  repressed  as 
they  had  been  by  the  blighting  influence 
of  despotism,  with  the  exception  of  those 
who  were  fortunate  enough  to  escape  the 
vigilance  of  this  Holy  Alliance  of  kings, 
were  nearly  all  destroyed.  They  moved 
only  in  the  night,  in  secret  whispers,  and 
far  from  the  observation  of  the  police,  or 
of  traitors.  All  Europe  trembled  in  pres- 
ence of  the  Autocrat  of  the  North.  The 
Polish  patriots,  therefore,  had  to  rely  en- 
tirely on  their  own  resources,  and  far  from 
recoiling  at  dangers  so  apparent,  they  did 
not  despair  of  overcoming  all  these  obsta- 
cles, and  of  recovering  their  independence, 


130  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

which  had  been  so  violently  wrested  from 
them. 

But  some  important  events  supervened, 
and  a  few  months  of  political  storms  and 
glorious  movements  almost  entirely  chang- 
ed the  face  of  Europe. 

The  cholera  and  the  Turkish  war  had 
decimated  that  formidable  army,  the  enor- 
mous mass  of  which  had  caused  the  scale 
to  incline  in  favor  of  Russia.  The  French 
people  had  risen,  as  great,  as  brave,  and 
as  victorious  as  in  former  times.  The 
hydra  of  the  holy  alliance  had  been  made 
to  tremble,  and  the  people,  raising  a  length- 
ened cry  of  joy,  had  proved  to  the  world 
that  they  were  conscious  of  their  own 
strength,  and  that  they  could  still  perform 
great  deeds.  Tlie  three  great  days  of 
France  were  the  torch  thrown  into  the 
midst  of  Europe,  which  was  waiting  in 
silence  the  signal.  The  French  is  the 
eldest  of  all  the  nations;  it  guides  the 
march  of  humanity  in  these  modern  times; 
it  has  only  to  impart  the  impulse,  and  the 


EMILY    PLATER.  131 

others  follow  their  example.  The  signal, 
so  long,  and  so  impatiently  expected,  was 
given — the  list  was  open  and  waiting  for 
the  parties — champions  were  by  no  means 
wanting.  This  same  people,  who  had  first 
raised  the  standard  of  liberty  and  called 
on  other  nations  to  rally  around  it,  relaps- 
ed into  its  former  apathy,  and  stopped  short 
in  the  midst  of  its  triumph.  But  who  could 
have  foreseen  such  a  thing  7  All  was  fire 
and  enthusiasm,  and  loud  in  the  cry  for 
liberty;  and  the  cry  resounded  through 
Europe,  which,  undermined  as  it  were  in 
her  foundations,  experienced,  to  her  very 
centre,  the  most  terrible  convulsions. 
Thrones  tottered  at  their  bases,  and  kings 
were  struck  pale  with  terror.  Belgium 
was  the  first  to  respond  to  the  cry  of 
France,  and  she  was  free. 

Liberal  associations  were  reorganized 
on  all  sides  and  in  every  country,  and 
strong  endeavors  were  made  to  accelerate 
a  universal  movement.  Germany,  Italy 
and  Spain  were  waiting  but  for  the  signal, 


132  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

and  Poland,  that  ancient  land  of  liberty, 
could  not  be  left  behind.     It  was  in  her 
very  heart,  too,   that  a  revolution  was  to 
break  forth  ;  this  was  as  necessary  as  una- 
voidable,  for  who  had  suffered  more  for 
independence,  and  who  more  ardently  de- 
sired it  ?     Placed  between  barbarism  and 
civilization,  her  duty  it  was  to  elevate  her- 
self upon  civilization,  and  exert  a  firm  re- 
sistance against  the  barbarity  which  re- 
tained  her  captive.     She  performed  her 
duty,  but  unfortunately  was  not  seconded. 
Little  satisfied  with  the  general  conduct 
of  the  patriotic  society,  and  impatient  to 
shake  off    the    ignominious  yoke   which 
bowed  them  down,  several  Poles,  towards 
the  month  of  October,   formed  two  new 
secret  societies,  the  one  civil,  the  other  mil- 
itary.    The  school  of  the  ensign  bearers 
was  the  focus  of  the  last.     There  was  con- 
gregated a  set  of  young  men,  who  were 
actually  boiling  over  with  enthusiasm  and 
courage,  but  with  that  patriotism  and  cour- 
age which  never  reasons  with  duty,  which 


EMILY    PLATER.  133 

knows  not  how  to  calculate  the  chances 
of  success,  and  which  never  calculates,  in- 
deed, at  all.  Intrusted  with  these  young 
hearts,  these  ardent  and  generous  souls,  the 
revolution  does  not  linger  on  its  way,  but 
flies.  Utopian  plans  and  projects  are  laid 
aside  ;  action  is  loudly  called  for  ;  the  cry 
is  liberty  or  death. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Russian  army  be- 
gins to  move,  and  the  ambitious  Nicholas 
orders  it  to  chasten  these  French  rebels, 
and  stifle  their  new  born  liberty.  The 
Tzars  have  set  themselves  up  as  apostles 
and  champions  of  barbarity  and  absolutism. 
Wherever  liberty  raises  its  head,  thither 
they  order  their  herds  of  serfs  to  march. 
They  have  charge  of  the  high  police  of  all 
public  places.  Their  interest  requires  that 
all  should  remain  buried  in  the  deepest 
ignorance,  as  well  as  the  most  brutish  sla- 
very. The  disarming  of  the  Polish  troops 
was  also  seriously  talked  of,  because  they 
were  suspected  of  entertaining  some  lurk- 


12 


134  LIFE    OP    THE    COUNTESS 

ing  desires  for  liberty ;  they  were  also  sus- 
pected of  plotting  against  the  Tzar  and  his 
power.  The  actual  condition  of  the  Poles 
was,  indeed,  a  critical  one.  Must  they  re- 
nounce that  future,  which  for  so  long  a 
time,  had  been  the  subject  of  their  dreams  ? 
Shall  they  basely  bow  their  heads  under 
the  sword  of  the  autocrat,  and  give  passage 
to  the  armies  which  were  going  to  fight 
against  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  a 
people  too  who  were  their  friends,  their 
brothers  1  Or  should  they  not  rather  rouse 
themselves,  run  to  arms,  break  their  chains, 
and  proclaim  the  resurrection  of  Poland? 
The  Pole  never  hesitates  between  glory 
and  dishonor ;  and  since,  by  his  position,  he 
found  himself  the  van-guard  of  the  camp  of 
liberty,  to  him  belonged  the  duty  of  encoun- 
tering the  first  shock  of  the  huge  mass  of 
iron  which  was  advancing,  with  brutish 
and  savage  barbarity,  against  the  inde- 
pendence and  civilization  of  nations.  To 
him  it  belonged  to  break  up,  or,  at  least, 


EMILY    PLATER.  135 

arrest  the  destructive  progress  of  this  in- 
vading swarm  ;  to  him  it  belonged,  even  if 
he  perished  in  the  attempt. 

The  most  alarming  symptoms,  for  the 
Russian  government,  were  manifesting 
themselves  all  over  the  kingdom.  The 
grand-duke  now  trembles,  now  threatens ; 
the  police  is  on  the  alert,  spreads  its  nets, 
lets  loose  its  spies  and  sends  out  its  agents, 
succeeds  even  in  catching  hold  of  some- 
thing like  a  clue  to  a  conspiracy ;  they  are 
on  its  track,  reports  are  made,  arrests  en- 
sue, and  the  convent  of  the  Carmelites  is 
crowded  with  prisoners.  Not  a  moment  is 
to  be  lost.  "  The  hour  of  vengeance  has 
sounded,"  exclaims  Wysocki;  "  there  is  no 
longer  time  for  delay — the  die  is  cast — we 
must  fight — to  arms!"  At  his  voice  the 
doors  of  the  military  school  are  broken 
open,  and  fall  with  a  terrible  crash.  A 
handful  of  brave  men  rush  thence  into  the 
city,  calling  the  people  to  arms,  and  pro- 
claiming independence ;— full  of  confidence 
in  the  justice  of  their  noble  cause,  and  their 


136  LIFE    OF    THE    COUMTESS 

own  courage,  with  a  firm  and  steady  step 
they  go  forward ;  they  do  not  allow  them- 
selves to  doubt  of  success ;  and  yet  they 
are  about  to  face  a  powder  which  extends 
over  more  than  one  third  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face, and  which  may  yet  give  laws  to  nearly 
all  the  nations  of  our  globe.  A  few  min- 
utes after  this,  Constantine  w  as  seen  flying 
from  the  city  in  which,  for  fifteen  long 
years,  he  had  exercised  the  functions  of  an 
executioner  and  corporal.  Poland  was 
free.  Alas !  it  was  but  for  a  short  time. 
Great  God !  has  she  not  yet  suffered 
enough  for  liberty  ?  or  has  she  been  guilty 
of  an  offence  so  heinous,  that  thou  canst 
not  forgive  her  without  wounding  thine  in- 
finite justice  !  O!  how^  long  before  the 
crown  of  her  martyrdom  may  be  awarded 
to  her  1 


EMILY    PLATER. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Impressions  produced  in  Lithuania  by  the  news  of  the 
revolution  of  Warsaw. — Fears  of  the  Russian  govern- 
ment.— The  managing  committee. 

Notwithstanding  the  redoubled  vigi- 
lance of  the  Russian  police,  and  the  fear  of 
persecution,  the  news  of  the  revolution  of 
Warsaw  soon  spread,  with  astonishing  ra- 
pidity, throughout  all  Lithuania.  The 
blow,  which  it  struck,  was  too  strong  not 
to  resound  simultaneously  in  every  corner 
of  Poland.  It  was  like  an  electric  dis- 
charge, which  shakes  instantaneously  the 
whole  chain,  however  long  it  may  be.  In 
less  than  three  days,  the  news  filled  the 
space  which  separates  the  Vistula  from  the 
Dzwina,  and  inflamed  every  heart.  It 
was  a  spontaneous  and  sublime  movement 
which  pervaded  every  family  of  a  great  na- 
tion.    Lithuania,    above  all,    felt  herself 

12* 


138  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

renovated — which,  until  that  time,  had 
dragged  along  her  chains  in  hopeless  indif- 
ference. But  from  this  moment  she  was 
no  longer  the  same ;  the  blood  circulated 
once  more  in  a  body  which  had  been  raised 
from  the  tomb.  Like  a  man  who  hears  in 
the  distance,  during  the  night,  a  mysterious 
voice,  a  hollow  sound,  she  first  raises  her 
head  a  little,  and  looks  intently  in  the  direc- 
tion whence  the  sound  proceeds.  She  lis- 
tens and  starts  to  her  feet ;  it  is  her  sister, 
her  mother,  it  is  Poland,  which  calls  her 
to  arms  and  shows  her  how  to  break  in  sun- 
der her  chains.  But  what  can  she  do 
alone  7  Can  she  withstand  the  arms  of  the 
Tzar,  who  has  his  foot  upon  her  breast? 
Can  she  repel  far  from  her  those  battalions 
of  Muscovite  slaves,  who  retain  her  in 
slavery  ?  She  calls  then  upon  the  Poles, 
and,  even  with  cries,  implores  their  aid. 
Let  them  but  come,  let  them  appear,  and 
Lithuania  also  will  be  free  and  unite  her- 
self to  great  Poland,  never  more  to  be  sep- 
arated from  her.     This  great  and  sublime 


EMILY    PLATER.  139 

idea  fills  all  hearts.  It  is  resolved  to  try 
every  thing,  to  do  every  thing,  in  order  to 
recover  that  liberty  so  precious,  so  beloved 
by  every  noble  and  great  heart. — People 
are  seen  to  run  to  and  fro,  they  commune 
in  secret  whispers,  they  assemble  in  the 
depths  of  the  woods,  or  in  the  solitary  cot- 
tage ;  they  talk  to  each  other  of  newly  con- 
ceived hopes,  and  of  newly  formed  plans; 
they  ply  the  forge,  they  prepare  arms,  they 
bring  to  light  old  swords,  which  have  al- 
ready, more  than  once,  been  employed 
upon  the  bodies  of  the  Russians,  in  the  time 
of  the  first  wars  for  independence :  they 
sharpen  them  anew,  for  the  blows  dealt 
by  them  must  be  mortal  ones — he,  who 
has  been  once  struck  by  them,  must  never 
have  the  power  of  raising  his  arm  against 
the  liberty  of  Poland.  Patriotism  fires 
the  hearts  of  all.  In  the  general  enthusi- 
asm, every  one  is  resolved  to  make  great 
sacrifices.  The  noble  and  the  rich  resolve 
to  sacrifice  their  property  if  necessary ;  the 
peasant  and  the  workman,  looking  at  their 


140  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

strong  and  muscular  arms,  calculate,  in 
anticipation,  the  number  of  Russians  which 
shall  be  prostrated  by  their  individual 
valor.  The  events  of  the  29th  of  Novem- 
ber are  everywhere  recounted,  and  with 
exaggerations;  news  is  invented,  which, 
as  is  usual  in  similar  circumstances,  great- 
ly redounds  to  the  honor  of  the  favored 
party,  and  which  at  least  proves  the  spirit 
which  reigns  in  Lithuania. 

The  Russian  government,  astounded  at 
the  news  of  the  sudden  revolution,  re- 
mained silent  for  some  time,  prosecuting, 
however,  as  disturbers  of  the  public  peace, 
whoever  dared  to  mention  it  in  public 
places.  Perceiving,  at  last,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  preserve  the  secret  longer, 
it  caused  it  to  be  publicly  announced  in 
the  journal  of  Wilna,  representing  the 
whole  affair  how^ever  as  an  insignificant 
uproar  of  young  men,  whom  his  majesty 
would  soon  chastise. 

Measures  are,  at  the  same  time,  adopt- 
ed for  arresting  the  progress  of  the  conta- 


EMILY    PLATER.  141 

gion,  and  keeping  the  Lithuanians  to  their 
duty.  But  what  measures  can  a  govern- 
ment, of  such  a  character,  take,  which  ex- 
ists only  for  oppression,  and  which  trem- 
bles with  a  consciousness  of  its  own  weak- 
ness 7  Shall  it  boldly  face  the  public 
opinion  which  is  opposed  to  it  7  Or  shall 
it  appeal  to  the  affections  of  the  people  7 

No,  it  is  too  cowardly  to  dare  the  first, 
and  too  well  convinced  of  its  own  iniquity 
to  place  reliance  upon  the  love  of  a  people 
from  which  it  merits  nothing  but  hatred. 
Infamous  itself,  it  can  look  for  support  to 
the  infamous  alone,  and  it  is  on  the  police 
that  it  places  its  chief  reliance.  This  le- 
gion of  spies,  therefore,  was  reinforced  by 
numerous  recruits.  These  were  of  every 
sort ;  some  were  fops,  handsome,  delicately 
gloved  and  well  perfumed,  who  were  to 
insinuate  themselves  into  the  saloons  of 
the  first  circles;  others,  the  offspring  of 
revolutions  and  constant  enemies  of  good 
order,  wherever  existing,  were  to  hang 
upon  the  steps  of  the  students  of  Wilna, 


142  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

and  take  note  of  all  their  actions  ;  and  the 
task  of  such  was  no  easy  one,  as  they  were 
obliged  to  render  a  daily  account  of  them- 
selves to  Pelikan,  with  minute  details  of 
every  thing  seen  and  heard.  Others  again 
were  charged  with  the  surveillance  of  citi- 
zens who  were  on  the  lists  of  the  police. 
But  soon  the  government,  yielding  to  its 
fears,  caused  the  suspected  to  be  transport- 
ed into  the  interior  of  Russia,  and  this  by 
way  of  jyrecaution.* 

The  streets  and  coffee  houses  swarmed 
with  secret  agents  declaiming  against  the 
government,  in  order  to  entrap  the  unwary, 
whom  they  would  at  once  denounce,  if 
caught  in  taking  side  with  such  sentiments. 

Wherever  four  persons  were  accident- 
ally met  together,  one  of  them  was  sure 
to  be  a  spy ;  all  confidence,  between  man 
and  man,  was  destroyed.  No  one  knew 
whom  to  trust,  for  even  brother  had  been 

♦  Such  was  the  expression  of  the  ukase  of  the  24th  of 
December,  1830. 


EMILY    PLATER.  143 

known  to  denounce  brother  and  cause  him 
to  be  thrown  into  a  dungeon. 

If  on  the  one  hand  this  plan  of  espi- 
onage afforded  the  government  sure 
means  of  being  informed  of  all  that  was 
going  on,  on  the  other  it  was  far  from 
being  adapted  to  relieving  it  of  its  fears  ; 
for,  in  order  to  make  themselves  of 
greater  importance,  the  secret  agents 
would  render  most  alarming  reports,  every 
moment,  to  the  authorities,  who  were 
thereby  kept  in  continual  apprehension  of 
danger,  and  hardly  knew  what  to  resolve 
upon. 

Strong  patrols  were  incessantly  pass- 
ing along  the  streets  of  the  city,  and  who- 
ever they  met  after  nine  o'clock,  was  a 
conspirator  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  as 
such  thrown  into  prison,  unless  he  prefer- 
red the  sacrifice  of  his  purse,  for  in  Russia 
every  thing  can  be  bought — even  liberty. 

Lithuania  was  declared  in  a  state  of 
siege  (a  consequence  quite  natural  to  a 
country  under  a  military  government) ;  but 


144  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

she  was  deprived  of  those  small  immuni- 
ties generally  granted  in  such  cases,  and 
which  tend  to  soften  the  hardships  of  such 
a  position. 

The  government  ordered  a  levy  of  re- 
cruits, hut  the  peasants  escaped  to  the 
woods  to  avoid  this  greatest  of  all  calami- 
ties. 

Under  pretext  of  taking  away,  from 
the  refractory,  the  means  of  resistance,  the 
government  ordered  a  general  disarming 
of  Lithuania,  and  caused  to  he  seized  arms 
of  every  description — guns,  pistols,  sabres, 
swords,  daggers,  hangers,  and  even  the 
edged  instruments  of  the  kitchen,  if  their 
length  rendered  them,  in  the  least,  suspect- 
ed. In  vain  did  many  citizens,  having  re- 
gard to  the  future,  attempt  to  secure  a  few 
arms  which  were,  in  their  estimation,  the 
most  higlily  prized  of  their  personal  effects. 
The  blood-hounds  of  the  police  were  sure 
to  scent  out  these  secret  places  of  deposit, 
and  the  citizen  guilty  of  such  an  act  of  re- 
bellion, was  but  too  fortunate  if  he  could 


EMILY    PLATER.  145 

purchase,  by  means  of  gold,  his  life,  threat- 
ened by  the  accusation  of  so  terrible  a 
crime  against  the  state.  They  laid  hands 
upon  the  implements  of  the  chase,  and  the 
simple  fusil  even,  used  by  the  forester  in 
driving  off  and  destroying  Avild  beasts,  did 
not  escape  them. 

Every  day  saw  wagon  loads  of  arms, 
the  last  hope  of  the  patriots,  deposited  in 
the  arsenal  at  Wilna  ;  and  yet  not  a  word, 
not  a  sign,  from  Poland.  She  seemed  to 
have  forgotten  her  ancient  limits,  as  well 
as  those  ancient  brothers,  beyond  the  Nie- 
men,  who  were  longing  to  fight  with  her, 
as  well  as  for  themselves. 

After  the  first  movement,  the  revolu- 
tion, at  Warsaw,  took  a  decidedly  wrong 
direction.  The  young  men,  who  com- 
menced it,  were  not  ambitious,  and  never 
thought  of  aspiring  to  any  dignity ;  and 
besides,  they  would  not  have  exchanged 
their  post  of  honor  in  fi'ont  of  the  enemy, 
for  the  highest  honor  the  state  had  to  be- 
stow.    The    government,    therefore,    re- 

13 


146  LIFE   OF    THE    COUNTESS 

mained  in  the  hands  of  the  authorities  es- 
tablished by  Nicholas,  and  every  thing  was 
transacted  in  his  name. 

Some  time  afterwards,  the  doctrinaires 
seized  upon  the  reins  of  government; — 
these  were  men  who,  wedded  to  old  cus- 
toms, neither  comprehended  the  intentions, 
nor  understood  the  situation  of  the  Poles. 
They  contented  themselves  with  protesta- 
tions against  the  violation  of  the  Charte, 
and  demanded  of  Nicholas  guaranties, 
when  the  nation  was  speaking  of  inde- 
pendence. For  these,  the  Congress  of  Vi- 
enna had  traced  the  limits  of  Poland,  and 
their  view  extended  not  beyond.  Indeed 
they  would  have  declared  the  man  a  trai- 
tor, who  would  have  dared  to  assert  that 
partitions,  made  by  violence  and  sustained 
by  force,  were  null  and  void,  and  that  it 
was  necessary  to  extend  the  revolution 
into  the  invaded  provinces.  It  must  be 
added  also,  that,  judging  the  nation  accord- 
ing to  their  imbecility,  they  believed  it  in- 
capable of  wrestling  with  Nicholas,  whose 


EMILY    PLATER.  147 

faithful  subjects  they  always  acknowledg- 
ed themselves  to  he,  and  to  whom  even 
they  sent  a  deputation  to  make  a  regular 
report  of  the  events  which  had  taken  place 
at  Warsaw. 

Clopickitook  possession  of  the  dictator- 
ship ;  a  skilful  general  and  intrepid  soldier, 
he  might  have  rendered,  and  did,  in  fact, 
render,  important  services  to  the  cause ; 
but  the  camp  is  no  place  to  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  political  manoeuvres,  or  the 
science  of  government.  He  shuddered  at 
the  danger  which  threatened  Poland ;  he 
believed  it  on  the  brink  of  ruin,  and  saw 
no  other  chance  of  safety,  but  in  the  clem- 
ency of  the  Tzar.  With  his  antiquated 
notions,  he  could  never  be  persuaded  that 
Poland  could  resist  a  power  which  had 
baffled  Napoleon  himself.  Age  having  ex- 
tinguished in  him  the  intrepid  bravery  and 
fiery  courage  of  youth,  he  submitted  every 
thing  to  the  cold  calculation  of  reason,  and 
never  took  into  account  the  prodigies  of 
valor  and  the  self-devotedness  of  a  young 


148  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

and  vigorous  nation,   and  one  which  had 
determined  to  he  free  at  whatever  cost. 

It  is  too  often  forgotten  that  men  pro- 
duced hy  a  revolution,  born,  as  it  were, 
with  it,  are  the  only  ones  who  can  ensure 
its  success.  Great  men  of  the  past  only 
obstruct  its  progress,  they  are  incapable 
of  imbibing  its  spirit. 

The  Polish  revolution,  in  the  hands  of 
such  men,  soon  came  to  a  full  stand.  The 
grand-duke,  instead  of  being  retained  as  a 
hostage,  w^as  permitted  freely  to  pass  out 
of  the  kingdom,  with  those  very  troops, 
which  returned  to  ravage  it,  three  months 
after,  and  wliich  might,  at  that  time,  easily 
have  been  disarmed.  The  men  in  power, 
listening  neither  to  the  counsel  nor  the 
wishes  of  the  nation,  contented  themselves 
with  merely  acting  upon  the  defensive, 
and  tranquilly  awaiting  the  enemy  at  the 
centre  of  the  constitutional  kingdom,  in-, 
stead  of  marching  boldly  forward  to  attack 
him  at  every  vulnerable  point. 

In  accordance  with  this  deplorable  sys- 


EMILY    PLATER.  149 

tern,  Lithuania  was  placed  entirely  out  of 
the  question  ;  and  if,  occasionally,  certain 
Lithuanians,  weary  of  the  delay,  and  hur- 
ried on  by  their  patriotism,  would  occa- 
sionally arrive  at  Warsaw  and  offer 
their  services  to  the  government,  the  dic- 
tator would  reject  their  offer  and  their 
prayers,  and  would  not  look  upon  these 
over-zealous  persons  without  vexation, 
who  had  come  to  disturb  the  pacific  march 
which  the  skilful  Lubecki  had  traced  for 
the  revolution,  and  which  he,  the  dictator, 
had  judged  proper  to  adopt  and  to  follow 
in  every  particular. 

Whilst  the  Poles  thus  lost,  by  the  inde- 
cision of  its  chief,  all  the  advantage  which 
it  might  have  reaped  from  the  panic  spread 
among  the  Russians,  these  latter  had  time 
to  recover  their  courage,  and  to  concen- 
trate their  forces  to  crush  the  rebels. 
From  all  parts  of  the  empire  troops  ad- 
vanced by  forced  marches ;  the  Siberian 
regiments  traversed  the  immense  space 
which  separates  them  from  Europe ;  the 

13* 


150  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

military  colonies  were  put  in  motion ;  and 
towards  the  end  of  December  all  this 
mass  spread  over  the  plains  of  Lithuania, 
like  an  impetuous  torrent,  swollen  by  the 
snows  of  the  Oural.  The  corps  of  Pahlen, 
SchacholTskoi,  Manderstrcn  and  Aurep, 
were  pressing  upon  each  other  on  their 
way  to  join  themselves  to  the  corps  of  Ro- 
sen, an  ancient  Lithuanian  corps,  which 
might  have  united  itself  to  the  Polish  corps, 
if  all  the  suspected  officers  had  not  been 
promptly  removed  from  it  and  sent  to  Cau- 
casia ;  this  corps,  afterwards,  evinced  the 
most  violent  animosity  towards  the  Poles. 
It  was  with  a  bleeding  heart  that  the 
I^ithuanians  saw  such  bodies  of  troops 
brought  against  Poland,  which  seemed 
abandoned  to  herself,  and  not  able  even  to 
profit  by  her  whole  strength  and  the  im- 
mense resources  which  Lithuania  could 
have  afforded  her.  To  look  at  these  for- 
midable masses,  one  would  have  thought 
that  their  number  alone  would  suffice  for 
effacing  the  slightest  vestige  of  the  small 


EMILY    PLATER.  151 

kingdom   they   were    about   to   overrun. 
And  yet,  what  terror  depicted  on  their 
countenances  !     What  pusillanimity  in  all 
their  proceedings !  The  jirestige  attached 
to  the  name  of  Pole,  the  army  of  whose 
nation  had   always   been  proposed  as  a 
model  to  the  Russian,    had  actually  de- 
prived them  of  their  energy.    Their  march 
through  Lithuania   offered,    already,  the 
spectacle  of  an  army  disorganized  by  a 
fear  which  they   endeavored   in  vain  to 
conceal.     They  advanced  as  if  they  had 
been  in  the  midst  of  the  enemy,  in  close 
order,  with  loaded  muskets,  and  every  pre- 
caution possible  against  ambuscades.    Ev- 
ery night,  they  expected  the  inhabitants 
would  cut  their  throats ;  every  forest  ap- 
peared to  them  peopled  with  armed  men, 
ready  to   fire   upon  them,  and   yet  they 
could  not  have  been  ignorant  of  the  fact, 
that  the  whole  of  Lithuania  had  been  dis- 
armed, and  that,  even  if  armed,  she  could 
not  be  able  to  struggle  with  their  numer- 
ous columns. 


152  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

At  last,  Diebitscli  arrived  at  Wiliia. 
The  laurels  gathered  in  Turkey  could  not 
conceal  the  fear  which  he  shared  with  his 
army.  He  knew  that  he  could  not  find 
in  Poland  pachas  easy  to  be  bribed.  He 
knew  the  nation  with  which  he  was  about 
to  measure  his  strength,  and  he  was  in- 
spired with  a  sad  presentiment  that  the 
laurels  of  the  Balkan  would  be  in  danger 
of  fading  on  the  foggy  banks  of  the  Vistu- 
la. Nevertheless,  he  affected  arrogance 
and  bravery,  and  proclaimed  that  he 
would  merely  have  to  pass  over  Poland 
to  reach  the  south  of  Europe,  and  chas- 
tise those  demagogues.  But  before  leav- 
ing Wilna,  the  field  marshal  determined 
to  secure  the  ground  in  the  rear  of  his  ar- 
my, and  establish  the  tranquillity  of  Lithu- 
ania. 

Diebitsch,  in  a  manner  a  soldier  of  for- 
tune and  destitute  of  country,  could  not 
comprehend  the  nature  of  such  a  thing  as 
patriotism,  and  honestly  believed  that 
every  revolution  was  the  work  of  conspir- 


EMILY    PLATER.  ;153 

i 

acy.  The  focus  of  the  revolt,  both  in  Lith- 
uania and  elsewhere,  was  to  be  found,  he 
thought,  in  the  schools,  and  he  determined 
to  curry  favor  w^th  the  students  of  Wilna. 
He  assembled  them,  therefore,  and  in  a 
studied  speech  addressed  to  them,  blamed 
the  conduct  of  their  superiors,  regretted 
the  vexations  which  the  students  had  ex- 
perienced from  them,  declared  himself 
their  protector,  and  promised  gold  and 
other  favors,  in  reward  for  their  iidelitv. 
He  finished  by  exhorting  them  to  enter  the 
army,  promising  instantly  to  exchange 
their  academic  grades  for  corresponding 
military  ones.*  This  fine  speech  of  the 
general's  was  received  in  mournful  silence ; 
and  a  general  cry  of  indignation  drowned 
the  voice  of  Pelikan,  who  next  undertook 


*  In  Russia,  the  order  of  the  different  grades  is  strict- 
ly observed.  Literary  distinctions  have  also  their  class- 
es, corresponding  to  civil  and  military  grades.  For 
instance,  the  first  academic  degree  corresponds  to  the 
first  grade  of  an  army  officer  ;  a  doctor's  degree  is  equiv- 
alent to  that  of  major  in  the  army. 


154  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

to  address  them.  These  ardent  youths, 
who  dreamed  of  nothing  but  liberty  and 
glory,  were  not  seduced  by  such  brilliant 
offers  ;  not  one  of  them  entered  the  Rus- 
sian army,  which  so  willingly  opened  its 
ranks  to  receive  and  load  them  with  hon- 
ors ;  but  if  they  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
invitations  of  Diebitsch,  they  listened  to 
their  country's  call  summoning  them  to 
arms.  What  cared  they  for  honors  and 
wealtli?  All  the  reward  they  sought  was 
to  be  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  the  army. 
More  than  two  hundred  of  tliese  heroic 
young  men  are  now  to  be  seen  in  France, 
more  truly  great  in  the  plain  casaque  of  the 
soldier,  than  many  of  our  officers,  so  proud 
of  their  epaulettes  and  brilliant  decora- 
tions obtained  in  the  Russian  or  Austrian 
service. 

Although  the  national  government  of 
Poland  was  slumbering,  at  the  time  it 
ought  to  have  been  engaged  in  energetic 
action,  there  were  yet  a  few  persons  who 
had  not  forgotten  Lithuania.     At  the  head 


EMILY    PLATER,  155 

of  these,  was  Lelewel,  whose  reputation 
for  patriotism  and  knowledge,  was  as  uni- 
versal as  it  was  well  deserved.  Being 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  character 
and  spirit  of  the  young  men  whom  he  had 
himself  brought  up,  and  by  whom  he  was 
greatly  beloved,  he  well  knew  the  import- 
ance of  their  assistance ;  and  in  order  to 
make  up,  as  much  as  possible,  for  the  defi- 
ciency of  the  men  in  power,  sent  James 
Grotkowski  into  Lithuania,  with  instruc- 
tions to  ascertain  how  the  people  stood 
affected  towards  the  patriotic  cause,  to 
rouse  and  excite  them  to  enthusiasm,  and 
particularly  the  young,  who,  no  doubt, 
would  take  the  lead  in  any  movements. 
This  young  Lithuanian,*  who  was  at  once 
brave,  zealous,  and  intelligent,  surmount- 
ed all  the  obstacles  which  this  delicate 
mission  afforded.  He  eluded  the  argus- 
eyed  police  and  penetrated  as  far  as  Wilna, 
when  he  became  convinced  that  all  the 

*  He  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Haynowszczyzna,  the 
23cl  of  May,  1831. 


156  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

inhabitants  of  this  ancient  province  of  Po- 
land were  waiting,  with  impatience,  the 
arrival  of  the  Poles.  Faithful  to  the  in- 
structions which  he  had  received,  he 
had  an  interview  with  those  who  had 
been  particularly  pointed  out  to  him,  made 
them  acquainted  with  the  particulars  of 
the  revolution  at  Warsaw,  and  instructed 
them  in  what  they  were  to  do,  and  in  the 
expectations  formed  of  them. 

He  did  not  conceal  from  them  the  dan- 
gers wliich  threatened  them,  the  fears 
which  were  entertained,  and  the  limited 
resources  of  the  republic;  but  he  described, 
in  glowing  terms,  tlie  patriotism  and  en- 
thusiasm which  animated  the  entire  popu- 
lation ;  and  with  that,  every  thing  might 
be  hoped  for.  After  having  organized  a 
committee  of  management,  to  whom  he 
gave  the  watch- word,  he  returned  to  War- 
saw. Was  this  committee  necessary,  and 
was  it  useful  7  This  may  admit  of  a  doubt. 
Committees  are  undoubtedly  necessary 
in  rousing  from  its  lethargy  a  nation  which 


EMILY    PLATER.  157 

is  unmindful  of  its  condition  and  insensible 
to  the  moral  disease  which  is  consuming 
it,  and  to  prepare  it  for  a  revolution  by 
gradually  forming  and  directing  public 
opinion.  But  where  this  is  already  done, 
the  people  will  revolutionize  themselves^ 
and  require  nothing  but  arms.  Commit- 
tees, in  such  case,  serve  only  to  embarrass 
the  operations  of  the  people,  and  are  more 
injurious  than  useful.  The  men  who  com- 
pose these  committees,  seem  to  forget  that 
an  insurrection  is  a  drama  entirely  made 
up  of  action,  and  which  only  needs  direc- 
tion, and  not  hinderance,  and  that  every 
thinff  must  be  made  to  concur  in  the  un- 
ravelling  of  the  plot  which  must  be  sud- 
den, unavoidable,  and  unforeseen,  else 
every  thing  is  jeoparded.  Success  is  alone 
to  be  expected  from  patriotism,  courage 
and  good  fortune,  not  from  arguments 
and  indecision. 

They  waste  their  time  in  the  debates 
of  the  assembly,  they  weigh  their  pros  and 
cons,  pi-epare   their  plans,  engage  in  in- 

14 


158  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

trigues,  consume  precious  time  in  prepara- 
tions, and,  in  the  mean  time,  enthusiasm 
is  quenched,  the  enemy,  taken  at  first  by 
surprise,  recovers  his  courage,  ascertains 
the  number  of  his  assailants,  rallies  his 
forces,  and  all  is  lost. 

We  have  a  striking  proof  of  this  in  Lith- 
uania. The  people,  impatient  of  the  yoke 
imposed  upon  them,  wished  to  revolt  with 
their  whole  force,  and  were  rendered  in- 
dignant at  being  held  in  check ;  whilst  the 
blunders  of  the  Russian  government  plac- 
ed, as  it  were,  their  army  in  the  power  of 
the  Lithuanians.  Placing  too  great  reli- 
ance upon  the  disarming  of  the  country, 
Diebitsch  conceived  the  project  of  drawing 
from  Lithuania,  all  the  necessary  supplies 
for  the  Polish  war.  The  Russian  army  en- 
tered the  kingdom  destitute  of  provisions, 
relying  upon  Lithuania  for  necessary  sup- 
plies. Immense  stores  were  ordered, 
with  directions  to  transport  them  to  the 
frontiers  of  Poland.  This  was  the  easiest, 
and  the  most  direct  method.    The  military 


EMILY    PLATER.  159 

purveyors  were  put  to  very  little  trouble 
in  procuring  supplies,  and  the  treasure 
was  not  drawn  upon.  A  sheet  of  paper 
converted  into  an  ukase,  was  all  that  was 
needed.  But,  at  the  same  time,  this  man- 
ner of  proceeding  placed  the  Kussian  gov- 
ernment completely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Lithuanians,  who,  not  having  the  means  of 
assisting  their  compatriots  by  means  of 
arms,  could  send  famine  into  the  camp  of 
their  enemies. 

Notwithstanding  this  advantage,  and 
the  imperious  voice  of  duty,  the  committee 
dared  not  to  decide.  They  were  waiting, 
and  so  were  the  people,  but  in  a  violent 
rage  at  the  restraints  imposed  upon  them. 
The  time  for  raising  the  levy  of  recruits 
was  near  at  hand,  the  furnishing  of  provi- 
sions had  commenced,  and  the  roar  of  can- 
non was  already  heard  in  the  direction  of 
Warsaw.  Every  true  patriot  felt  that 
every  moment  was  precious,  and  tired,  at 
length,  at  the  delay  of  the  committee,  re- 
solved to  act. 

Julius  Gruzewski,  one  of  the  most  ar- 


160  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

dent,  judged  the  moment  favorable ;  and 
alarmed,  perhaps,  at  the  news  of  the  arrest 
of  Stanievvicz,  atLibau,  assembled  a  small 
troop  of  thirty  men,  and  placing  himself 
at  their  head,  on  the  25th  of  March,  1831, 
drove  the  Russians  from  the  city  of  Ros- 
sien.  The  whole  country  responded  to 
this  signal,  and  Lithuania,  destitute  of  arms, 
threw  down  the  gauntlet  to  Russia.  From 
this  time  the  committee  w^as  a  perfect  nul- 
lity. The  sword  alone  was  to  decide  the 
contest.  Sublime  and  terrible  moment, 
when  the  weaker  rise  against  the  stronger, 
and  endeavor  to  overthrow  them  !  a  mo- 
ment in  which  a  handful  of  brave  men, 
without  arms,  without  leaders,  animated 
by  the  love  of  country  and  of  liberty,  sus- 
tained by  their  own  courage,  and  armed 
by  hatred  against  tyranny,  raise  the  cry  of 
independence,  and  rush  upon  an  enemy  a 
thousand  times  more  numerous  than  them- 
selves, and  which  they  cause  to  tremble. 

Such  instances  of  patriotism  and  deep 
devotedness  are  rare  in  the  annals  of 
nations. 


EMILY    PLATER.  161 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Relations  of  Emily  Plater  with  the  young  Russians  of 
the  military  school  of  Dtinabourg. — She  raises  the 
people  and  marches  upon  that  city. — Her  first  victory. 

Emily  Plater  could  not  rest  tranquil, 
when  all  about  her  was  animated  with  a 
new  life.  The  revolution  of  the  29th  of 
November  did  not  come  upon  her  unpre- 
pared. The  cry  of  liberty,  rising  from  the 
banks  of  the  Vistula,  had  reached  her 
ears,  and  it  met  with  a  deep  response  from 
her  own  heart.  She  saw  the  dreams  of 
her  whole  youth  about  to  be  realized. 
She  could  now  sacrifice  herself  upon  the 
altar  of  her  country's  good  ;  she  could  now 
labor,  even  she,  a  weak  woman,  in  rescu- 
ing her  country  from  slavery.  How  this 
idea  made  her  leap  for  joy!  She  felt  her- 
self inspired  with  a  new  life.  Proud  and 
intrepid,  she  rose  a  cubit  in  stature.     She 

14* 


162  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

would  have  challenged  any  warrior,  or 
hero,  to  compete  with  her  in  courage  or 
intrepidity.  She  would  have  seized  the 
helmet  and  sword,  mounted  horse,  and 
rushed  with  boldness  into  the  very  midst 
of  the  Muscovite  battalions,  whom  she 
hated,  and  whom  she  would  have  trodden 
under  foot  and  a  thousand  times  destroyed, 
had  they  possessed  but  one  head,  even  if  she 
had  perished  herself  in  the  act.  To  die 
for  her  country  seemed  to  her  one  of  the 
noblest  of  actions. 

Like  all  the  Lithuanians,  Emily  had 
been  expecting  the  arrival  of  the  Poles, 
and  she  thought  she  would  have  nothing 
else  to  do  but  to  serve  her  country,  mingled 
with  the  crowd  of  warriors.  But  the  er- 
rors of  the  government,  at  Warsaw,  soon 
destroyed  her  hopes,  and  opened  for  her 
courage  a  career  much  more  extensive, 
and  imposed  upon  her  a  task  of  greater 
difficulty,  but  one  which  afforded  greater 
scope  for  great  and  noble  deeds.  "  The 
country,"  said  Emily,  "is  not  responsible 


EMILY    PLATER,  163 

for  the  folly  of  the  men  in  power."  And,  far 
from  being  disheartened  at  the  apathy  and 
indifference  exhibited  by  this  government 
towards  their  compatriots,  she  labored 
constantly  to  sustain  the  enthusiasm  in 
weak  and  undecided  minds,  \thich,  carried 
away  by  the  torrent,  are  willing,  at  the 
first  moment,  to  make  any  sacrifice,  but 
which,  as  soon  as  the  first  impulse  has 
subsided,  are  too  ready  to  fall  back  into 
the  apathy  and  torpor  natural  to  them. 

Where  the  government  of  a  country  is 
so  constituted  that  its  principal  strength 
consists  solely  in  the  nobility,  and  where 
the  people  are  plunged  into  the  darkness  of 
ignorance  and  servitude,  (and  such  unhap- 
pily is  the  condition  of  all  the  countries  of 
the  north,)  in  such  a  country,  the  influence 
of  a  single  individual  is  capable  of  power- 
ful action  upon  the  masses,  and  of  impart- 
ing to  them  an  impulse  ;  particularly  if  by 
her  position  in  society,  her  talents  and  her 
genius,  she  can  command  their  respect, 
while,  by  her  acts  of  kindness,  she  can 


164  LIFE    OF    THji    COUJNTi:.ai3 

attract  to  herself  their   love   and  confi- 
dence. 

Emily,  always  gentle  and  compassion- 
ate, was  beloved  and  respected  in  the 
neigboring  parts,  as  much  by  the  peasants 
as  by  the  nobility.  She  made  no  other 
use  of  the  influence  which  her  birth,  her 
virtues  and  her  education  afforded  her,  but 
to  employ  it  in  aid  of  the  holy  cause  of  her 
country.  She  was  persuaded  that  the 
people  ardently  loved  their  country  and 
hated  the  Russians,  but  that  they  were  not 
sufficiently  enlightened  to  guide  them- 
selves. Maintaining  constant  intercourse 
with  them,  she  profited,  by  her  position,  in 
giving  them  some  direction.  She  explain- 
ed to  them  the  causes  of  delay,  on  the  part 
of  their  Polish  brethren,  gave  them  reason 
to  hope  that  the  obstacles  would  soon  be 
surmounted,  that  in  a  few  days  they  would 
have  it  in  their  power  to  unite  with  their 
brothers  in  Poland,  in  ridding  themselves 
of  the  Russian  yoke,  and  she  counselled 
them  that,  while  awaiting  this  event,  they 


EMILY    PLATER.  165 

should  hold  themselves  prepared  for  every 
occasion,  and  should  conceal,  Avith  great 
care,  the  arms  of  which  the  Russians  wish- 
ed to  despoil  them. 

The  people  listened  to  her  counsels  and 
followed  them,  because  they  saw  her  con- 
stantly occupied  in  promoting  the  welfare 
of  the  country. 

After  having  disposed  their  minds  in 
favor  of  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  fully  con- 
vinced herself  that  the  whole  neighbor- 
hood would  rise  and  march  at  the  first 
signal,  Emily  set  out  for  Wilna,  in  order 
to  concert  measures  with  the  directing 
committee,  and  to  take  instructions  for  her 
future  conduct.  But  she  forgot  that  she 
was  a  woman,  and  that  men  affect  an  ex- 
clusive monopoly  in  politics,  courage  and 
wisdom.  Her  sex  excluded  her  from  that 
confidence  which  her  enterprising  charac- 
ter, and  extensive  designs,  ought  to  have 
secured  to  her,  rather  than  to  two-thirds 
of  the  members  which  composed  the  com- 
mittee, and  her  journey  was  unsuccessful. 


166  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

Tims,  left  alone  in  her  career  and  pa- 
triotic intentions,  by  the  ignorant  pre- 
sumption of  the  men,  Emily,  nevertheless, 
ceased  not  to  occupy  herself  with  her 
favorite  scheme,  and  conceived  an  enter- 
prise as  great  and  as  bold  as  her  own 
heart.  She  wished  to  show  to  the  men 
that  she,  also,  was  capable  of  great  things. 

The  fortress  of  Diinabourg,  situated 
upon  the  other  side  of  the  Dzwina,  was 
not  far  distant  from  her  own  residence. 
To  take  possession  of  this  half-fortified 
city,  and  of  the  immense  arsenal  there;  to 
hoist,  upon  the  left  bank  of  the  Dzwina, 
the  standard  of  the  white  eagle,  and  of  the 
Lithuanian  order  of  knights ;  to  call  the 
inhabitants  to  arms;  to  awaken,  in  their 
hearts,  the  weak,  but  not  yet  extinguished 
recollections  of  their  former  relations  with 
the  Poles,  and  thus  transfer  the  insurrec- 
tion into  Livonia  and  western  Russia, — 
such  were  the  projects  conceived  by  Emi- 
ly Plater,  and  which  she  wished  to  ex- 
ecute.     Having  lived  from  infancy  in  the 


EMILY    PLATER.  167 

neighborhood  of  this  city,  she  well  knew 
the  weakness  of  the  garrison,  and  the  dis- 
order which  generally  reigns  in  a  place  iu 
which  a  large  number  of  workmen  are  as- 
sembled, and  the  commander  of  which, 
full  of  security,  was  in  little  expectation 
of  being  attacked  on  his  post,  in  the  midst 
of  such  a  peaceable  population. 

The  young  heroine  was  perfectly  well 
acquainted  with  all  the  weak  points  of  the 
place,  at  which  it  could  be  easily  entered. 
She  even  procured  apian  of  the  city,  with 
its  fortifications,  and  after  having  careful- 
ly considered  the  chances,  she  decided  on 
an  attempt  to  surprise  it. 

Is  it  not  surprising  to  see  a  young  girl, 
weak  and  inexperienced,  conceive,  and 
put  in  execution,  a  project  of  this  kind,  and 
that,  too,  with  deliberation,  with  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  greatest  caution  and  prudence, 
and  without  forgetting  any  thing  that 
could,  in  the  least,  influence  its  success  7 
She  must,  indeed,  have  possessed  a  genius 
eminently  military,  a  soul  full  of  ardor, 


168  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

touched  with  the  most  lofty  patriotism, 
and  one  which  sported  with  danger. 

To  ensure  success,  she  endeavored  to 
effect  a  communication  with  the  interior 
of  the  fortress. 

In  Russia,  by  statute  law,  it  is  render- 
ed obligatory,  on  the  part  of  the  nobility, 
to  obtain,  by  actual  service,  a  grade  in  the 
military  or  civil  service,  before  being  en- 
titled to  the  rights  of  citizenship.  The 
disgrace  attached  to  a  civil  office,  on  ac- 
count of  the  venality  and  corruption  of 
the  government,  induces  every  one  to  pre- 
fer the  army.  The  Lithuanians,  not  being 
able  to  enter  into  the  Polish  army,  saw 
themselves  obliged  to  enrol  themselves  in 
the  ranks  of  the  Russian  army,  in  order  to 
meet  the  requisitions  of  the  law  ;  and  they 
composed  the  chief  part  of  the  military 
school  established  at  Diinabourg,  for  the 
subalterns  of  the  army.  Polish  hearts 
were  beating  under  the  Russian  uniform, 
which  they  were  obliged  to  wear,  and 
thoughts  of  liberty  would  produce  a  thrill 


EMILY    PLATER.  169 

of  delight  in  the  bosoms  of  these  youths, 
who  were  as  patriotic  as  they  were  eager 
for  fame.  Among  them  were  two  cousins 
of  Emily's.  She  laid  open  to  these  her 
mind  and  her  plans,  and  found  that  they, 
too.  had  formed  the  same  design.  They, 
too,  felt  the  importance  of  the  place  in 
effecting  the  Polish  revolution,  as  well  as 
that  which  was  in  a  state  of  preparation 
in  Poland. 

They  were  long  in  concerting  their  plan, 
and  it  was  finally  agreed  that,  on  the  ap- 
proach of  Emily  and  the  insurgents,  the 
military  school  should  rise,  take  arms,  fall 
unexpectedly  upon  the  garrison  of  the 
citadel,  and  thus  essentially  contribute  to 
the  taking  of  the  place. 

There  was  but  one  thing  further,  which 
retarded  Emily,  and  this  was  the  commit- 
tee. Persuaded,  like  every  one  else,  that 
this  committee  was  acting  in  accordance 
with  instructions  from  Warsaw,  and  that 
it  was  incumbent  upon  them  to  give  the 
signal  for  revolt,  she  feared,  by  too  great 

15 


170  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

precipitation,  to  injure  the  cause  by  arous- 
ing tlie  suspicions  of  the  oppressors.  This 
fear  was  still  exerting  an  influence  upon 
her  when  Gruzewski,  as  we  have  ah-eady 
mentioned,  struck  the  first  blow  and  gave 
the  signal. 

Without  loss  of  time,  Emily  went  to 
work ;  she  rouses  the  conspirators  to  ac- 
tion, and  entreats  them  to  follow  her.  She 
desires  to  be  among  the  first  to  proclaim 
that  the  reign  of  Russia  is  ended.  She 
possesses  as  much  patriotism  as  any  one 
else,  and  longs  to  partake  of  the  common 
danger.  On  the  29th  of  March,  she  parts 
with  her  golden'  tresses,  assumes  man's 
attire,  arms  herself  with  pistols  and  a 
dirk  ;  and  followed  by  Mademoiselle  Prus- 
zynska  and  two  young  men,  she  repairs 
to  the  village  of  Dousiaty,  where  every 
thing  was  in  a  state  of  readiness.  They 
were  only  awaiting  the  arrival  of  Caesar 
Plater,  (the  proprietor  of  the  village,  and 
who  happened  at  that  time  to  be  absent  at 
Wilna,)  before  unfolding  the  sacred  banner 


EMILY    PLATER.  171 

of  revolt,  which,  in  the  present  case,  was 
also  that  of  justice.  This  young  patriot, 
who  will  occupy  such  a  prominent  place 
in  the  sequel  of  this  history,  saw,  not  with- 
out pain,  the  slow  progress  of  affairs;  he 
was  incessantly  going  backwards  and  for- 
wards, and  endeavoring  with  all  his  might 
to  accelerate  the  time  for  acting. 

It  was  Sunday.  A  much  greater  num- 
ber of  people  had  collected  from  the  neigh- 
borhood, to  throng  the  church,  than  usual ; 
attracted  by  mysterious  rumors  of  some- 
thing new  being  in  agitation.  At  the 
sight  of  the  young  Countess  in  arms  and 
mounted,  the  multitude  began  to  crowd  to 
the  public  square,  where  the  national  stand- 
ard had  already  been  unfurled  by  the 
hands  of  our  heroine.  In  a  brief  and 
animated  speech,  she  explained  the  pow- 
erful motives  which  were  calling  the 
country  to  arms. 

It  is  not  by  vain  and  idle  words  that 
she  endeavors  to  rouse  them  and  engage 
them  to  join  her.     It  is  in  the  name  of 


172  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

their  own  interest  that  she  addresses  them. 
She  dwells  upon  the  extortions  to  which 
they  are  subjected  by  the  Russians,  the 
burdensome  taxes  which  weigh  them 
down,  the  army  rescriptions  which  wrest 
their  children  from  them,  and  whom  they 
can  never  see  more,  the  persecutions  of 
the  police,  etc. 

"  It  is  time,"  cries  she  to  them,  "  it  is 
time  to  go  and  aid  our  Polish  brothers, 
who  are  fighting  for  us  upon  the  shores  of 
the  Vistula.  We  must  break  the  chains 
which  overwhelm  us,  we  must  be  free,  we 
must  fight ;  God  wills  it !  !  !" 

No  one  can  resist  this  powerful  appeal 
of  a  new  crusade  against  barbarity  and 
oppression.  No  heart  is  closed  against 
the  cry  of  liberty.  These  words  sink 
down  into  the  very  depths  of  the  soul,  they 
overcome  every  obstacle,  they  gain  the 
complete  mastery  of  every  heart.  The 
multitude  respond  to  Emily  with  shouts  of 
enthusiasm,  admiration  and  hatred.  Tiiey 
hold  in  abhorrence,  and  trample  under 


EMILY    PLATER.  17 


o 


foot,  the  monster  whose  hand  has  so  long 
kept  ancient  Poland  in  a  state  of  intoler- 
able oppression.  They  wish  to  be  free, 
and  they  will  be  so.  The  hatred  which 
has  always  lived  in  the  depths  of  their 
hearts,  once  more  awakes,  powerful  and 
terrible.  It  is  face  to  face,  hand  to  hand, 
that  they  will  say  to  the  Russians  that 
they  are  hated,  and  that  they  are  wanted 
no  longer. 

The  young  men  run,  armed  with 
scythes  and  pikes,  among  which  are  occa- 
sionally seen  to  glisten  a  few  fowling- 
pieces.  In  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
the  village  assumes  a  warlike  attitude. 
Cartridges  are  distributed,  and  the  insur- 
gents are  organized.  The  blacksmith  is 
busy  in  converting  the  scythes  into  war- 
like instruments,  which  hereafter  are  to 
be  employed  in  breaking  in  sunder  the 
chains  of  their  oppressors.  The  whole 
day  is  spent  in  preparations,  amidst  noise 
and  confusion.  Emily  Plater  superintends 
every  thing ;  nothing   escapes  her   over- 

15* 


174  LIFE  OF  THE  COUNTESS 

sight  and  unwearied  activity.  She  is  the 
soul  of  the  insurrection.  Every  moment, 
fresh  bodies  of  volunteers  are  coming  in 
from  every  direction  to  place  themselves 
under  the  command  of  a  looman,  but  a 
woman  who  has  already  given  proof  of 
her  great  energy,  whom  they  know,  whom 
they  all  esteem  and  almost  worship. 

The  next  day,  she  seized  the  horses 

of  the  Dangiele  post-office,  amounting  to 

about  thirty,  and  with  this  addition  to  her 

cavalry,  vshe  began  her  march  on  Diina- 

bourg,  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  and 

eighty    chasseurs,   several    hundred  fau- 

cheurs,  and  a  body  oi  cavillers  amounting  to 

sixty.*     She  presses  the  march  in  order 

to  take   the   city  by  surprise.      But  the 

country  through  which  the  march  lies  is 

still  tranquil,  and  the  population  must  be 

roused,  armed  and  organized,  and,  above 

all,  made  to  feel  the  necessity  of  prompt 

*  Chasseurs  are  light  cavalry  ;  faiicheurs,  men  armed 
with  scythes  ;  caviliers,  mounted  gentlemen. 


EMILY    PLATER.  175 

and  vigorous  action.  All  this  retards 
every  moment  her  march,  and  embarrasses 
her  plans,  the  success  of  which  depends 
almost  entirely  upon  celerity.  Moreover, 
a  company  of  Russian  infantry  are  on  the 
way,  from  Ucinia  to  Diinabourg,  to  inter- 
cept her  march.  Emily  attacks  them  on 
the  2d  of  April,  and,  after  an  obstinate 
contest,  forces  the  enemy  to  yield. 

After  a  painful  march  of  several  days, 
she  arrived,  at  last,  at  Jeziorossy.  But  the 
alarm  had  already  been  given  to  the  com- 
mander at  Diinabourg,  who  sent  two  com- 
panies of  infantry  to  arrest  the  insurgents. 
The  Russians,  trusting  to  their  strength 
and  number,  advanced  with  confident  ex- 
pectation of  dispersing  these  rebels,  wiio 
were  marching  without  order  or  muni- 
tions. 

Emily  was  advised  of  the  approach  of 
the  enemy  and  did  not  seek  to  avoid  them  ; 
she  rather  desired  to  meet  them^  in  order 
to  exercise  her  troop  and  impart  confi- 
dence to  her  own  forces  ;  she  knew  what 


176  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

might  be  effected  by  means  of  enthusi- 
asm and  resolution.  She  was  persuaded 
that  a  victory,  however  slight  it  might  be, 
would  open  the  way  to  a  thousand  victo- 
ries besides.  She  wished,  by  an  unex- 
pected and  bold  attack,  to  infuse  ter- 
ror into  the  Russians ;  she  did  not,  there- 
fore, hesitate  to  attack  them  as  soon  as 
she  met  them. 

It  was  near  the  village  of  Jeziorossy, 
on  the  4th  of  April,  at  break  of  day,  that 
she  'fell  upon  their  camp,  routed  them, 
threw  them  into  utter  confusion,  and  fin- 
ished by  achieving  a  complete  victory. 
The  Russians  had  no  expectation  of  this  at- 
tack. They  believed  the  enemy  to  be  struck 
with  fear,  and  incapable  of  undertaking 
any  thing.  Seeing  themselves  vigorously 
pressed  by  an  enemy  which  they  had  des- 
pised, they  supposed  that  he  had  receiv- 
ed reinforcements;  they  did  not,  there- 
fore, defend  themselves  with  vigor,  but 
soon  gave  way,  leaving  about  sixty  of 
their  own,  killed  or  wounded.  Emily,  proud 


EMILY    PLATER.  177 

of  this  victory,  pushed  on,  took  possession 
of  the  village  of  Jeziorossy  and  pursued 
the  fugitives  on  the  high  road  to  Diina- 
bourg,  where  slie  expected  to  arrive  as 
soon  as  they,  and  risk  the  action  which 
was,  perhaps,  to  decide  the  campaign. 


178  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 


CHAPTER    X. 

Battle  near  Diinabourg. — Emily  joins  the  corps  of 
Charles  Zaluski. — She  enrols  herself  among  the  free 
chasseurs  of  Vilcomir.— Affair  of  Przystowiany . 

If  courage  and  contempt  of  death 
had  been  alone  sufficient  to  make  an  en- 
terprise succeed,  Emily  Plater  would 
doubtless  have  carried  all  her  plans  tri- 
umphantly through.  But  a  chief  has 
need  of  something  else,  besides  excellent 
qualities.  He  needs  arms  and  soldiers. 
How  can  he,  with  a  small  troop,  badly 
armed  and  without  munitions,  maintain 
his  position  in  presence  of  an  enemy 
twenty  times  more  numerous,  and  abound- 
ing in  resources? 

The  small  army  of  Emily,  which  had, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  campaign,  but 
a  very  small  number  of  cartridges,  had 
almost  completely  consumed  them  in  the 


EMILY    PLATER.  179 

two  first  engagements.  She  nevertheless 
advanced;  but  she  could  rely  on  none 
but  the  faucheurs ;  the  lack  of  powder 
and  ball  rendering  then*  muskets  useless. 
And  what  a  weapon,  the  scythe  !  It  is 
suitable  for  holding  the  third  rank  in  the 
line,  excellent  in  the  pursuit  of  an  enemy 
already  routed  by  regular  troops,  but 
very  seldom  have  the  faucheurs  been 
known  to  break  close  columns  and  decide 
the  battle. 

Thus  it  was  impossible  for  our  friends 
to  resist  successfully  the  regular  troops, 
and  the  commander  at  Diinabourg,  advised 
by  the  fugitives  of  the  fate  of  his  first  de- 
tachment, sent  a  battalion  of  infantry, 
witli  tw^o  pieces  of  cannon,  against  the 
enemy  who  w^ere  advancing,  and  at 
the  same  time,  raising  the  country.  The 
affair  could  not  be  doubtful ;  after  a  short 
contest  the  insurgents,  broken  at  all  points, 
dispersed.  Fighting  without  any  order, 
they  were  not  able  to  rally  ;  and  closely 
pressed   by   the   Russians,   who   pursued 


180  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

them  for  a  long  distance,  Emily  was 
obliged  to  retrace  her  steps,  and  had  the 
grief  to  see  all  the  villages  which  she  had 
delivered  retaken  by  the  enemy,  who  exer- 
cised upon  them  the  greatest  cruelties. 
Dousiaty,  where  the  standard  of  insurrec- 
tion had  been  for  the  first  time  unfolded 
by  her  own  hand,  was  taken  by  the  Rus- 
sians, and  consigned  to  the  flames. 

Moreover,  the  plan  of  Emily,  for  sur- 
prising Diinabourg,  had  become  impracti- 
cable by  a  number  of  changes  which  had 
been  made  in  that  fortress.  The  young 
men  on  whom  Emily  had  most  relied,  had 
all  been  sent  away.  Whether  the  Russian 
general  entertained  any  suspicion  of  the 
plot,  or  whether,  alarmed  by  the  progress 
of  the  insurrection,  he  feared  to  retain  in 
the  fortress  men  whose  fidelity  was,  to 
say  the  least,  very  doubtful,  and  whom  na- 
tional affinity  with  the  rebels  would  lead 
to  sympathize  with  them,  he  caused  them 
to  be  disarmed  and  sent  off,  on  the  9th  of 
April,  to  the  army  of  Diebitsch,  under  es- 


EMILY    PLATER.  181 

cort    of    a    detachment    of  the  imperial 
guard.* 

This  decision  of  the  Russian  command- 
er, and  the  check  which  she  liad  just  expe- 
rienced, destroyed  all  the  plans  of  Emily. 
After  having  collected  the  shattered  re- 
mains of  her  little  troop,  she  united  them 
to  the  command  of  her  cousin,  Count 
Csesar  Plater,  quitted  the  neighborhood  of 
Dousiaty,  and,  followed  only  by  Mademoi- 
selle Pruszynska,  went  to  join  the  corps  of 
insurgents  under  the  command  of  Zaluski. 

Some  days  after  the  revolution  had 
broken  out  in  Lithuania,  the  insurgents, 
seeing  that  all  their  operations  were  con- 
ducted without  order  and  without  any  fa- 
vorable result,  each  corps  acting  separate- 
ly, resolved  to  appoint  a  commander  in 
chief,  who  should  unite  all  the  different 
corps,  and  by  this  means  be  able  to  strike 

*  These  young  men,  eighteen  in  number,  succeeded 
in  making  their  escape  from  their  guard  during  the 
journey,  and  were  afterwards  of  great  service  to  the  Po- 
lish cause. 

16 


182  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

a  decisive  blow.  It  was  difficult  to  find  a 
man  capable  of  this  trust,  and  at  the  same 
time  worthy  of  their  confidence.  The 
Lithuanians  having,  for  twenty  years, 
crouched  under  the  yoke  of  Russia,  had  de- 
voted themselves  exclusively  to  private 
life  and  to  agriculture.  No  one  among 
them  had  devoted  himself  to  the  military 
service,  and  if  any  veteran  of  the  legions 
was  still  to  be  found  in  the  ranks  of  the 
insurgents,  most  frequently  he  lacked  a 
name  which  could  inspire  the  people  with 
confidence  and  command  their  respect. 

Count  Charles  Zaluski,  leader  of  the 
insurrection  in  the  district  of  Upita,  was 
disting*iished  by  an  unexampled  activity 
and  zeal.  The  choice  fell  upon  him,  and 
he  was  proclaimed  commander  in  chief  by 
the  insurgents  of  Wilna,  Wilkomierz,  Tro- 
ki,  Kowno,  Oszmiana  and  Upita.  Although 
a  zealous  patriot,  governed  by  the  purest 
motives,  and  of  undaunted  bravery,  yet, 
being  but  a  mere  novice  in  the  art  of  war, 
he  was  unwilling  to  accept  a  charge  in- 


EMILY    PLATER.  183 

volving  SO  much  responsibility.  It  was, 
nevertheless,  insisted  upon,  and  he  could 
not  refuse. 

The  secret  committee  of  Wilna  were 
constantly  sending  emissaries  to  urge  Za- 
luski  to  uiite  all  the  forces,  and  come  with 
them  to  attack  Wilna,  promising  him  the 
rising  of  the  whole  town,  and  a  complete 
success  in  expelling  the  Russians  from 
Lithuania.  Zaluski  well  knew  the  futili- 
ty of  this  project,  and  was  perfectly  assur- 
ed that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to 
take  possession  of  a  city  fortified  on  all  sides, 
bristling  with  cannon,  and  long  prepared 
for  any  attack  whatever.  But  still  pressed 
by  the  committee  and  the  other  insurgents, 
obeying,  moreover,  the  impulse  of  his  own 
heart,  with  a  strong  desire  to  free  his  coun- 
try in  the  shortest  time  possible,  he  set 
out.  *  *  *  *  Braving  danger,  in  every 
engagement  he  added  much  to  his  reputa- 
tion ;  but,  at  the  distance  of  five  leagues 
from  the  capital,  he  was  vanquished  by 
the  Russians,  in  consequence  of  the  inex- 


184  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

perience  of  the  insurgents,  and  constrainetl 
to  retreat,  and,  finally,  to  retire  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Wilna. 

When  Emily  Plater  joined  him,  he  was 
encamped  near  Smilgi,  in  the  district  of 
Upita.  Her  renown  had  preasded  her, 
and  every  one  was  curious  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  woman,  who  not  only 
had  given  an  example  to  the  men,  but  who 
had  even  surpassed  them  by  her  devoted- 
ness,  the  boldness  of  her  plans,  and  her 
promptness  in  the  execution  of  them. 
They  ran  in  crowds  to  see  and  admire  her; 
but,  with  the  most  part,  this  admiration 
was  cold  and  constrained.  Romantic 
young  men  hoped  to  find  in  her  an  ama- 
zon  of  brilliant  jmrure,  a  female  warrior 
like  those  seen  at  the  theatre ;  but  how 
great  was  their  disappointment  at  the  sight 
of  a  woman  dressed  in  a  plain  blue  casaque 
of  coarse  cloth,  and  entirely  destitute  of 
that  brilliant  exterior  which  is  so  imposing 
to  the  vulgar,  and  which  is  often  mistaken 
for  real  merit !     Others,  again,  regarding 


EMILY    PLATER.     '  185 

with  a  j  ealous  eye  a  woman  who  had  dared 
to  invade  the  rights  of  the  male  sex,  and, 
influenced  by  a  pitiful  jealousy  which  could 
not  forgive  her  the  glory  with  which  she 
had  covered  herself,  gave  her  a  cold  recep- 
tion, and  under  pretence  of  zeal  and  solici- 
tude for  a  life  so  precious,  would  endeavor 
to  divert  her  from  her  martial  schemes, 

"  You  are  a  woman.  Countess,"  said 
they  to  her,  "  and  you  can  never  endure 
the  fatigues  of  the  camp.  We  are  far  from 
questioning  your  courage  and  talents  ;  but 
battles  and  the  prospect  of  death,  which 
constantly  threaten  us,  are  the  least  of  our 
troubles.  You,  whose  complexion  is  so 
delicate,  would  you  be  able  to  pass  your 
nights  without  sleep,  your  days  without 
rest,  and  sometimes  without  foodl 

"  Would  you  be  able  to  perform  forced 
marches,  of  fifteen  leagues,  through  dense 
forests  destitute  of  roads,  or  impracticable 
marshes'?  Could  you  swim  over  rivers? 
No,  Countess,  your  health  would  sink  un- 
der such  fatigues.     Resume,  then,  your  fe- 

16* 


186  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

male  pursuits,  and  be  satisfied  with  the 
glory  and  gratitude,  which  are  so  justly 
your  due,  and  preserve  that  health  which, 
for  many  reasons,  is  so  dear  to  us.  But  if 
you  wish  to  be  useful  to  your  country,  are 
there  not  other  ways  of  serving  her,  besides 
bearing  arms  7  A  grand  and  noble  career 
is  now  opened  to  your  sex,  which  is  un- 
questionably more  congenial  to  your  taste. 
Bestow  all  your  cares  upon  the  wounded." 

Emily  would  listen  coldly  to  such  re- 
marks, and  would  sometimes  answer : 

"  I  know  that  my  health  and  arm  are 
both  weak  ;  but  the  arms  I  wear  are  mere- 
ly for  my  own  defence.  These  pistols 
will  protect  me  from  personal  danger, 
when  attacked  by  an  enemy,  and  if  these 
fail  me,  this  dirk,  which  you  see,  will  not 
allow  me  to  be  taken  alive. 

"  But,  gentlemen,"  added  she  with  a 
faint  smile,  "  I  am  a  woman,  and,  as  such, 
cannot  overcome  the  curiosity  which  im- 
pels me  to  assist  in  your  battles,  and  be  an 
eye-witness  of  your  courage  ;  and,  finally, 


EMILY    PLATER,  187 

to  dress  your  noble  wounds  on  the  spot, 
and  at  the  moment  you  receive  them.  As  to 
these  fatigues,  weak  as  I  am,  I  know  how 
to  endure  them." 

These  officious  advisers,  rebuked  by 
this  polite,  though  slightly  ironical  answer, 
held  their  peace,  and  durst  not  oppose  her 
views  any  further. 

On  the  next  day.  May  the  4th,  Zaluski 
marched  to  Przystowiany,  at  which  place 
the  commander  in  chief,  incorrectly  inform- 
ed with  respect  to  the  position  of  the  ene- 
my, as  he  supposed  him  to  be  far  distant, 
proposed  to  grant  a  few  days'  repose  to  his 
troops,  fatigued,  as  they  were,  by  three 
weeks'  marching  and  counter-marching. 
They  arrived  at  Przystowiany  at  about 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Emily 
Plater  immediately  repaired  to  the  en- 
campment of  the  free  chasseurs  of  Wilko- 
mir,  and  requested  that  they  would  admit 
her  into  their  ranks.  This  corps,  who 
were  for  the  most  part  composed  of  the 
principal  citizens  of  the  country,  and  who 


188  LIKE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

had  already  given  many  signal  proofs  of 
their  devotedness  and  valor,  proud  of  the 
choice  Emily  had  made,  received  her 
among  them  with  acclamation.  They 
considered  such  a  recruit  an  honor  to  their 
corps,  and  its  commander  determined  to 
celebrate  the  event  by  a  kind  of  military 
fete. 

Butwhilepreparations  for  this  fete  were 
making,  and  the  rest  of  the  insurgents  were 
resting,  in  all  security,  after  the  fatigues  of 
their  long  march,  a  discharge  of  musketry- 
upon  their  left  wing,  which  was  partly 
composed  of  the  students  of  Wilna,  gave 
notice,  at  about  one  o'clock,  P.  M.,  of  the 
approach  of  the  enemy. 

Soon  the  Russian  lancers  were  seen  de- 
ploying on  the  plain,  and  the  infantry 
marching  in  close  column.  This  force 
was  composed  of  two  regiments  of  cavalry, 
one  brigade  of  infantry,  and  twelve  pieces 
of  cannon,  all  under  command  of  Generals 
Sulima  and  Malinowski ;  they  were  march- 
ing against  us. 


EMILY    PLATER.  189 

The  insurgents,  taken  by  surprise, 
seized  their  arms,  and  hastened  to  take  po- 
sition in  a  small  wood  which  crowned  the 
summit  of  a  hill. 

"  These  Russian  gentlemen  are  very 
impolite  to  come  to  molest  our  fete  in  this 
manner,"  observed  the  commander  of  the 
free  chasseurs,  with  a  smile,  and  who  had 
already  stood  fire  in  the  service  of  the 
French,  under  Napoleon. 

"  They  come  to  grace  it,"  cried  Emily, 
seizing  her  musket ;  "  they  will  give  me 
opportunity  of  proving  to  you  that  I  am 
worthy  of  being  your  companion  in  arms." 

In  an  instant,  every  one  was  at  his 
post ;  the  fire  of  the  Russians  was  brisk, 
and  the  cannon  roared. 

The  Russian  infantry  advanced  to  dis- 
lodge, at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  the  in- 
surgents from  their  cover ;  these  allowed 
them  to  advance  within  fifty  paces.  Fire ! 
cries  the  commander  of  the  chasseurs.  A 
simultaneous  discharge  of  musketry  ensues, 
and   the  Russians  are  thrown  into  confu- 


190  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

sion  by  the  murderous  volley,  and  are  this 
time  repulsed  with  great  loss. 

A  second  attempt  of  the  enemy  in  like 
manner  failed,  and  the  insurgents  by  no 
means  despaired  of  maintaining  their  po- 
sition, which  had  been  already  contested 
for  four  hours. 

How  painful  to  be  forced  to  relinquish 
the  victory  to  the  enemy,  in  a  moment 
when  it  seems  to  be  within  your  grasp  ! 
How  unfortunate  that  resources  should 
not  correspond  with  courage  and  justice  ! 
But  such  is  the  fate  of  battles. 

"  Cartridges  !  We  want  cartridges," 
suddenly  and  almost  simultaneously  cried 
all  the  chasseurs. 

"  We  have  no  more,"  sorrowfully  re- 
plied the  commander.  All  at  once  the 
whole  line  of  insurgents  rung  with  a  shriek 
of  despair,  for  they  must  yield. 

Regular  troops,  however  well  disci- 
plined, rarely  retreat  with  order ;  how  then 
could  it  be  otherwise  with  the  insurgents, 
who  were  entirely  ignorant  of  discipline? 


EMILY    PLATER.  191 

As  long  as  they  had  ammunition,  they 
stood  their  ground,  but  once  obliged  to 
yield,  they  dispersed  in  the  greatest  disor- 
der. It  was  not  so  much  a  retreat  as  a 
complete  helter-skelter.  The  confusion 
was,  if  possible,  increased  by  the  giving 
way  of  a  defective  bridge  thrown  over  a 
small  river,  which  they  were  obliged  to 
wade,  with  water  up  to  the  chin.  All  the 
muskets,  which  remained  charged,  were 
of  course  wet  in  this  passage,  and  all  fur- 
ther resistance  was  out  of  question.  The 
Russians  pursued,  for  a  long  time,  cutting 
down  all  whom  they  overtook. 

This  day  would  have  been  entirely 
fatal  to  the  insurgents,  had  not  Maurice 
Prozor  heard,  by  good  fortune,  the  firing, 
and  hastened,  with  his  command,  to  cover 
their  retreat,  by  directing  a  murderous  fire 
upon  the  enemy's  cavalry. 

During  the  battle,  Emily  was  in  the 
front  line,  passing  from  rank  to  rank, 
braving  death,  without  however  inflicting 
it.     At  the  commencement  of  the  retreat. 


192  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

she  found  herself  in  a  critical  position. 
Deserted  by  her  own  people,  in  the  midst 
of  the  general  confusion,  with  only  three 
men  near  her,  she  was  slowly  retiring, 
when  the  Russians,  already  in  possession 
of  the  main  road,  endeavored  to  cut  off 
her  retreat,  and  several  advanced  to  lay 
hold  on  her.  A  dozen  guns  were  fired 
close  to  her,  which  Emily  did  not  think 
proper  to  return,  and  prevented  her  com- 
panions from  firing.  "  Save  your  pow- 
der," cried  she,  "  temerity  is  useless  and 
imprudent.  What  could  we  four  do 
against  that  cloud  of  Russians,  which  is 
pursuing  us?  Instead  then  of  wasting 
our  time  on  the  road,  let  us  endeavor  to 
gain  ground  on  them.  If  we  are  cut  off 
from  every  means  of  retreat,  then  indeed 
will  we  sell  our  lives  as  dearly  as  we 
can,  and  prevent  ourselves  from  being  ta- 
ken alive." 

The  ground  they  were  obliged  to  go 
overbad  been  lately  ploughed,  and  the  re- 
cent rains  had  made  it  so  soft  as  to  greatly 


EMILY    PLATER.  193 

retard  the  progress  of  the  cavalry,  while 
it  afforded  considerable  advantage  to  those 
on  foot.     However,  Emily,  much  fatigued 
by  the  battle  and  her  flight,  made  but  slow 
progress.     Continually  exposed  to  the  en- 
emy's fire,  and  almost  within   hearing  of 
the  breathing  of  their  horses,  she  never- 
theless gained  ground  on  those  in  pursuit, 
and  succeeded  at  length  in  reaching  a  for- 
est, when  she  fell,  overcome  with  fatigue. 
Nothing  on  earth  would  have  induced 
the  Russians  to  enter  a  wood,  which  their 
imagination  always  represented  to  them 
as  swarming  with   insurgents,  placed  in 
ambuscade  ;    the  pursuit,   therefore,  here 
ended.     Towards  evening,  Emily  crawled 
to  the  cottage  of  a  forester,  not  more  than 
five  hundred  yards  from  the  Russian  camp, 
whence  the  sentry's  call  was  plainly  heard. 
But  she  was  so  much  exhausted  that  she 
was  obliged  to  stay  all  night  in  this  inse- 
cure place,  exposed  every  moment  to  be- 
ing  captured  by  the  enemy.     The   next 
day,  feeling  a  little  recovered,  she  resum- 

17 


194  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

ed  her  retreat.  The  country  was  covered 
with  Russians,  and  crossed  and  recrossed 
in  every  direction  by  their  detachments. 
Although  entirely  ignorantof  the  place  the 
troops  of  Zaluski  had  retired  to,  yet  she 
succeeded  in  rejoining  them  on  the  banks 
of  the  Doubissa,  leading  with  her  a  de- 
tachment of  forty  men,  which  she  had 
rallied  during  her  painful  and  dangerous 
retreat. 


EMILY    PLATER.  195 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Return  of  the  insurgents  to  Wilcomir. — Mary  Raszano- 
wicz  and  Emily  Plater. — They  pass  to  the  corps  of 
Constantine  Parczewski. — Sad  position  of  the  insur- 
gents. 

After  the  unfortunate  aflfair  at  Przys- 
towiany,  the  chiefs  of  the  insurrection, 
perceiving  that  the  uniting  of  several  de- 
tachments into  one  corps,  so  far  from  be- 
ing useful  to  the  cause,  served,  but  to 
leave  the  country  unprotected  and  expos- 
ed to  the  resentments  of  the  Russians,  de- 
termined to  divide  the  troops  into  small 
parties,  and  to  return  home.  This  ar- 
rangement would,  at  least,  afford  them 
an  opportunity  of  exerting  their  personal 
influence  and  of  profiting  by  their  know- 
ledge of  localities;  whilst,  united,  they 
could  do  little  else  than  march  from  one 
place  to  another,  without  any  object  or 
result. 


196  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

In  consequence  of  this  decision,  Charles 
Zaluski  and  Leon  Potocki  returned  into 
the  district  of  Upita ;  Vincent  Matusze- 
wicz  took  to  the  forests  of  Troki  with  his 
insurgents,  thence  to  spread  terror  into  the 
Russian  ranks.  The  free  chasseurs  of 
Wilcomir,  to  which  Emily  Plater  belong- 
ed, took  up  the  march  for  their  own  dis- 
trict. 

Their  arrival  was  opportune ;  for  al- 
ready the  fruits  of  their  first  success  were 
lost.  Werzulin,  with  his  Circassians,  (the 
same  Werzulin  w^hose  cruelty  recalled 
the  memory  of  Souvaroff  and  Drevitsch,) 
was  master  of  Wilkomir.  The  police, 
under  protection  of  the  troops,  had  re- 
sumed their  usual  course  ;  the  spies  were 
active,  the  Jews  were  denouncing  peace- 
able citizens  and  persecutions  again  com- 
menced with  renewed  violence.  The  de- 
sire of  liberating  their  friends,  their  broth- 
ers, not  less  than  that  of  avenging,  upon 
Werzulin,  the  blood  of  the  women  and 
children    massacred    at    Oszmiana,    im- 


EMILY    PLATER.  197 

pelled  the  free  chasseurs  to  advance  on 
Wilkomir,  and  after  a  consultation,  on 
the  part  of  Col.  Charles  Przezdziecki, 
Plater,  Grolkowski  and  the  chiefs  of  the 
insurrection  of  Wilna,  they  laid  siege  to 
the  place  on  the  17th  of  May,  before  sun- 
rise. 

But  Werzulin,  brave  in  the  massacre 
of  women,  and  a  coward  in  battle,  seeing 
the  insurgents  advancing  on  all  sides, 
thought  it  more  prudent  to  abandon  the 
city,  marking  his  retreat  by  murder,  rape 
and  fire. 

The  insurgents,  once  more  masters  of 
the  chief  place  of  the  district,  sent  sev- 
eral detachments  in  pursuit  of  this  brig- 
and, and  applied  themselves  to  the  organ- 
ization of  the  country.  They  establish- 
ed a  provisionary  government,  which  was 
charged  with  the  administration  of  public 
affairs,  the  maintaining  of  internal  tran- 
quillity and  the  providing  for  the  immedi- 
ate wants  of  the  insurrection.  It  was  du- 
ring these  transactions  that  a  young  in- 

17* 


198  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

surgent  presented  himself  to  the  chief  of 
the  troops,  and  offered  his  services.  His 
delicate  features,  slender  form,  and  fine 
curls,  belied  his  dress.  It  was  no  other 
than  young  Mary  Raszanowicz,  who  also 
wished  to  try  her  fate  in  war.  A  bloom- 
ing beauty  of  twenty,  she  naturally  pos- 
sessed the  happy  faculty  of  supporting  re- 
verses with  gayety,  without,  however,  ex- 
posing herself  to  the  charge  of  indifference. 
I^ong  and  fatiguing  marches,  the  hard- 
ships of  the  camp,  the  soldier's  coarse  fare, 
could  none  of  them  make  any  impression 
on  her  gay  and  cheerful  temper.  She 
could  be  playful  in  the  midst  of  danger, 
and  laugh  in  the  presence  of  death.  Her 
mirth  was  without  affectation  or  malice. 
She  was  plain,  gentle,  frank  and  engaging 
in  her  manners;  but  subsequently,  the 
misfortunes  of  her  country,  which  greatly 
afflicted  her,  imparted  a  tinge  of  sadness 
to  her  character.  But  at  the  time  of 
which  we  are  speaking,  nothing,  as  yet, 
portended  ill    to    Poland,   which,    every- 


EMILY    PLATER.  199 

where  victorious,  was  almost  sure  of  re- 
gaining her  ancient  independence. 

The  identity  of  sex  and  feeling  soon 
united  her  to  Emily  in  the  bonds  of  the 
most  intimate  friendship  ;  their  warm,  en- 
thusiastic young  hearts  understood  each 
other  at  once.  Both  wished  to  toil  and 
fight  in  the  cause  of  their  country.  From 
that  day  they  were  inseparable ;  they 
solemnly  pledged  tliemselves  to  fight,  side 
by  side,  like  two  brothers  in  arms,  and  to 
share  the  same  fortune,  whether  good  or 
bad.  They  kept  their  faith.  Death  alone 
has  separated  them  ;  Mary  Raszanowicz 
has  received  the  last  breath  of  Emily 
Plater. 

Those  officious  advisers,  who,  once  be- 
fore, had  been  so  well  rebuked,  returned 
to  the  charge,  and  again  attempted  to  dis- 
suade Emily  from  what  they  chose  to 
term  her  mania  for  war.  The  recent  dan- 
ger, which  she  had  encountered  at  Przys- 
towiany,  served  them  as  a  pretext  for  ob- 
truding their  officious  advice  upon  her,  and 


200  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

to  constrain  her  to  retire  to  the  protection 
of  one  of  her  relatives,  who  lived  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Wilkomir. 

Emily  Plater,  weary  of  these  babblers, 
and  wishing  to  avoid  the  annoyance,  re- 
solved to  join  another  corps. 

Parczewski  \vas  then  intending  to  ad- 
vance on  Wilna,  and  reassume  the  posi- 
tions in  wdiich  he  had  maintained  himself 
for  the  two  successive  months,  affording, 
the  meanwhile,  the  most  signal  proofs  of 
courage  and  coolness,  keeping  the  enemy 
constantly  on  the  alert,  harassing  them, 
and  attacking  them  when  he  had  the  least 
prospect  of  success.  Although,  in  ap- 
proaching Wilna,  he  would  be  more  ex- 
posed to  the  attacks  of  the  Russians,  yet 
it  would  place  it  in  his  power  to  commu- 
nicate with  the  patriots  of  Wilna,  and  con- 
cert measures  with  them  ;  he  would  also 
be  within  reach  of  a  thousand  resources 
which  that  great  city  could  afford.  He 
was  about  to  place  himself,  as  it  were,  up- 
on the  van  of  the  troops,  and  this  position 


EMILY    PLATER.  201 

would  offer  him  more  opportunities  for 
attacking  the  enemy,  and  also  more  dan- 
gers to  encounter.  These  considerations 
determined  Emily  Plater  to  select  this 
corps.  She  therefore,  with  her  new  and 
inseparable  friend,  Mary  Raszanowicz, 
went  to  join  that  corps. 

Six  leagues  from  Wilna,  Parczewski, 
misinformed  in  regard  to  the  enemy's 
movements,  fell  into  an  ambuscade,  and  it 
was  after  considerable  loss,  that  he  finally 
succeeded  in  extricating  himself  from  his 
perilous  situation.  He  w^ent  to  encamp  at 
01any,'where  the  Russians  did  not  dare  to 
molest  him;  he  passed  eight  days  quietly 
in  this  camp,  recruiting  his  men  and  pro- 
curing ammunition,  of  which  the  several 
engagements  that  he  had  encountered  had 
nearly  exhausted  him,  and  which  could 
with  difficulty  be  procured,  at  a  high  price, 
and  at  the  risk  of  life. 

In  other  respects,  the  last  week  of 
May  and  the  first  part  of  June  passed 
without  any  remarkable  events.     There 


202  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

was,  on  both  sides,  a  kind  of  armistice 
brought  on  by  circumstances.  They  ap- 
parently seemed  to  be  resting  from  the 
toils  of  war.  The  Russians  were  com- 
pelled to  allow  their  army  some  rest, 
fatigued  and  harassed  by  a  sort  of  parti- 
san war  of  two  months,  during  which  they 
had  been  obliged,  every  day,  to  act  on  the 
offensive  or  defensive,  without  obtaining 
any  decided  advantage,  or  being  able  to 
force  the  insurgents  to  a  decisive  engage- 
ment. They  therefore  ceased  to  chase 
the  rebels,  and  waited  for  General  Tols- 
toi, whom  the  Emperor  had  appointed 
commander  in  chief  of  the  army  of  re- 
serve, and  who  was  coming  from  Western 
Russia,  with  a  considerable  force,  in  order 
to  crush  the  insurgents  by  their  number, 
and  put  an  end,  at  once,  to  the  rebellion. 
The  insurgents,  Avho  had  been  several 
times  dispersed  by  the  Russians,  had  also 
need  of  repose,  in  order  to  rally  anew,  and 
did  not  think  of  attacking  the  enemy.  The 
news  of  the  march  of  Tolstoi  alarmed  them 


EMILY    PLATER.  203 

the  morej  as  already,  without  reinforce- 
ment, the  enemy  was  four  times  their  own 
number,  and  they,  moreover,  lacked  pow- 
der and  shot.  After  an  inspection  of  their 
ammunition,  the  chiefs  were  convinced  that, 
even  if  their  detachments  were  reduced  one 
third,  each  soldier  ^^^l:)uld  hardly  be  sup- 
plied with  more  than  five  rounds  apiece  ; 
the  messengers  they  had  despatched  in 
every  direction  to  procure  a  supply,  would 
return  with  but  a  small  quantity,  and  often 
with  none. 

From  the  other  side  of  the  Niemen, 
nothing  could  be  heard,  and  there  was  no 
news  from  Poland,  which  indeed  seemed 
to  have  forgotten  us,  and  entirely  left  us  to 
our  own  resources  to  contend  single-hand- 
ed with  the  Russian  army,  which  allowed 
us  no  repose.  The  moment  of  decision  had 
come.  The  most  prevailing  opinion  was 
in  favor  of  disbanding  the  troops,  and  of 
the  bravest,  together  with  those  most  deep- 
ly committed  in  the  insurrection,  reassem- 
bling, and,  in  close  columns,  forcing  a  pas- 


204  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

sage  through  the  Russian  battalions,  in 
order  to  join    the    Polish    army.      Some, 
however,  were  far  from  favoring  this  opin- 
ion.    Resolved  to  shed   the  last  drop  of 
blood,  they  wished  to  remain  in  the  coun- 
. try,  maintain  the  insurrection,  and   keep 
the  Russian  troops  at  bay  until  the  arrival 
of  the  Poles,  who  could  not  much  longer 
delay  to  march  to  the  assistance  of  their 
brethren.     It  may  well  be  imagined  that 
Emily  Plater  was  of  this  last  opinion,  and 
that  she  never  could  entertain  for  a  mo- 
ment the  idea  of  abandoning  Lithuania  to 
the  Russians.     "  The  Lithuanians,"  said 
she,  "  weak  as  they  are,  keep  busy  twenty 
thousand  Russians,  who  otherwise  would 
goto  reinforce  Diebitsch's  army.    Besides, 
as  long  as  the  insurrection  lasts,  the  enemy 
can  reap  no  advantage  from  the  resources 
of  the  country  ;   his  communication  with 
St.  Petersburg  is  cut  off,  or,  at  least  greatly 
impeded.     In  abandoning  the  country,  we 
voluntarily  resign  to  the  enemy  all  these 
advantages,  and  what  have  we  to  offer  to 


EMILY    PLATER.  205 

the  Poles  in  return?  The  insignificant 
assistance  of  a  few  hundred  men.  Death 
can  overtake  us  as  easily  there  as  here ; 
it  might  perhaps  be  more  glorious  in  Po- 
land, but  here  it  will,  at  least,  be  more 
useful  to  the  common  cause.  Let  us  perish, 
if  necessary,  but  let  us  perish  with  honor ; 
and  let  us  not  forsake  those  we  ourselves 
have  excited  to  insurrection;  they  have 
intrusted  us  with  their  defence,  and  we 
have  sworn  to  free  them  from  oppression." 


18 


206  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 


CHAPTER    XII. 

The  Polish  troops  enter  Lithuania. — Chlapowski  and 
Gielgud. — Emily  Plater  appointed  Captain  in  the 
twenty-fifth  of  the  line. — Battle  of  Kowno. 

While  the  chiefs  of  the  insurrection 
were  in  a  state  of  indecision,  Constantino 
Zaleski  arrived  in  the  midst  of  them,  with 
orders  from  Gen.  Chlapowski  to  the  insur- 
gents, that  they  should  immediately  take 
up  the  line  of  march  to  join  the  Polish 
troops,  which  were  advancing  towards 
Lida. 

This  unexpected  news  inspired  the  in- 
surgents, as  well  as  the  inhabitants,  with 
new  hopes  and  new  courage,  althougli  ig- 
norant of  the  amount  of  force  with  Chla- 
powski. They  entertained  no  doubt  but 
that,  with  the  help  of  the  Poles,  they 
could  not  only  successfully  oppose  the 
Russians,   but  even    triumph  over  them. 


EMILY    PLATER.  207 

Men  skilled  in  the  military  art  would 
know  how  to  organize  and  drill  these 
masses  of  insurgents,  who,  thus  far,  had 
been  able  merely  to  revolutionize  the 
country,  and  keep  the  enemy  in  a  state 
of  constant  alarm,  but  not  entirely  to  sub- 
due him ;  the  insurgents,  too,  had  to  this 
time  been  destitute  of  a  chief. — We 
were  satisfied  that  even  the  sight  of  the 
Poles  would  revive  the  enthusiasm  of  our 
citizens,  as  well  as  the  courage  of  the 
army,  which  a  series  of  disasters  had  be- 
gun to  repress. 

Chlapow^ski,  it  was  said,  was  bringing 
with  him  artillery  as  well  as  small  arms, 
which  he  had  taken  from  the  enemy,  in 
forcing  his  passage  through  the  Russian 
army,  over  which  he  had  even  obtained 
some  advantage.       We   had   no    further 
doubts   as  to  the    future ;    victory,  now, 
seemed  to  us  certain.     We  looked  upon 
Chlapowski   as    a   saviour,    and   no   one 
dreamed  any  longer  of  abandoning  Lithu- 
ania.    "  Let  us  not  hesitate,"  was  the  geii 


208  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

eral  voice ;  "  every  moment  is  precious, 
let  us  go  and  join  our  brethren,  let  us 
prove,  by  our  readiness  to  obey  orders,  that 
we  are  worthy  of  freedom." 

But  as  the  Lithuanians  had,  for  some 
time  past,  relinquished  the  hope  of  receiv- 
ing assistance  from  Poland,  many  of  them 
looked  upon  this  unexpected  news,  of  the 
actual  approach  of  the  Poles,  as  improba- 
ble ;  and  it  raised  doubts  in  the  minds  of 
men,  whose  circumspection  amounts  to 
distrust,  and  who  are  inclined  to  give  the 
worst  construction  to  every  event. 

"We  have  so  often  been  deceived  on 
this  point,"  they  would  say,  "  that  we 
may  yet  well  doubt  it.  And  what  evi- 
dence can  this  man,  who  has  come  to  an- 
nounce to  us  the  approacli  of  our  friends, 
afford  us  of  the  truth  of  his  assertion  ? 
Blight  he  not  be  a  spy  sent  by  the  enemy 
to  induce  us  to  leave  our  position,  and  betray 
us  and  the  country  to  the  rage  and  ven- 
geance of  the  Russians  7  Let  us  act  with 
prudence,  and,  in  the  first  place,  send   a 


EMILY    PLATER.  209 

confidential  messenger  to  ascertain  the 
truth  of  this  information ;  then,  on  his  re- 
turn, we  can  act  with  perfect  safety." 

Such  thoughts,  secretly  disseminated 
among  the  insurgents,  shook  their  belief, 
and  soon  many  detachments  declared 
that  they  would  not  leave  their  position, 
without  some  convincing  proofs. 

Poor  Zaleski  was  at  a  loss  to  know 
how  to  convince  them.  He  repeated  to 
them,  over  and  over  again,  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  Chlapowski  to  send  him  writ- 
ten orders,  lest  they  should  fall  into  the 
enemy's  hands ;  besides,  as  the  insurgents 
were  unacquainted  with  the  General's 
hand-writing,  they  could  place  no  more 
dependence  upon  a  written  order  than  on 
the  verbal  one  that  had  just  been  brought 
to  them.  It  was  in  vain  he  endeavored  to 
convince  them  of  the  fatal  consequences 
which  their  hesitation  might  bring  on  the 
national  cause,  as  well  as  themselves ; 
they  were  determined  to  wait,  notwith- 
standing. 

18* 


210  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

Prudence,  even  distrust,  are  sometimes 
necessary,  particularly  when  the  interests 
of  a  whole  nation  are  at  stake,  which  is  to 
be  rescued  from  the  grasp  of  an  ever 
watchful  enemy,  who  is  constantly  laying 
snares,  and  who  knows  well  how  to  take 
advantage  of  the  least  fault.  However, 
this  prudence,  this  distrust  must  not  pro- 
ceed too  far,  for,  in  such  case,  favorable 
opportunities  are  liable  to  be  lost,  which, 
in  war,  are  apt  to  be  rather  few  and  far 
between.  It  belongs  to  the  man  of  expe- 
rience and  good  judgment  to  decide  when 
to  act  and  when  to  forbear;  when  to  ad- 
vance and  when  to  retreat ;  unfortunately, 
a  great  deal,  too,  depends  on  chance  in 
these  matters. 

Evil  counsels  were  about  to  prevail, 
and  it  was  nearly  decided  to  wait.  But, 
fortunately,  Parczewski,  Emily  Plater  and 
others,  who  were  personally  acquainted 
with  Zaleski,  and  who  knew  him  incapa- 
ble of  treachery,  thought  otherwise,  and 
defended  their  opinions  so  warmly,  that 


EMILY    PLATER.  211 

it  was  concluded  all  at  once  to  march. 
They  took  upon  themselves  the  responsi- 
bility of  this  movement,  and  they  were 
not  deceived  in  their  expectation,  for  they 
discovered  the  Polish  army,  on  the  6th  of 
June,  at  Gabrielow,  where  the  Prince  Ga- 
briel Oginski  Matuszewicz,  with  the  in- 
surgents of  Troki,  and  the  students  of 
Wilna,  had  already  joined  them. 

What  painter  can  depict,  what  poet 
can  adequately  describe  a  scene  like  this, 
when  two  people,  who  had  been  united  by 
nature  and  sympathy,  but  whom  violence 
had  separated,  were  reunited  after  thirty- 
five  years  of  constrained  separation  !  The 
beauty  and  sublimity  of  such  a  spectacle 
is  beyond  the  power  of  the  pen  to  describe. 
Here  all  is  noble  and  affecting.  It  is  the 
uniting  of  two  brothers,  who  have  been 
separated  from  their  cradle,  to  fight  the 
common  enemy,  who  has  carried  destruc- 
tion and  death  into  the  bosom  of  the  fami- 
ly around  the  paternal  hearth.  Once 
more  united,  they  wjU  be  strong. 


212  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

The  standards  are  mingled,  tlie  ban- 
ners are  crossed,  the  white  eagle  of  Po- 
land is  united  to  the  knight  of  Litliuania, 
or  rather,  the  two  standards  make  but 
one,  on  which  is  written  :  "  Let  us  die  for 
freedom,  and  our  country."  They  em- 
brace one  another,  arms  are  exchanged, 
hearts  and  tears  commingle,  a  simultane- 
ous shout,  from  ten  thousand  mouths,  as- 
cends to  heaven.  Heaven  hears  it,  and 
the  reunion  is  consummated.  It  is  the 
shout  of  independence  and  fraternal  feel- 
ing ;  of  union  against,  and  hatred  for, 
their  oppressors. 

I  was  present,  on  that  sublime  occa- 
sion ;  I  can  therefore  speak  of  it  from  per- 
sonal knowledge.  This  day  will  always 
be  remembered  as  one  of  the  most  solemn 
in  my  whole  life.  How  beautiful  was  the 
spectacle  of  those  two  armies  uniting  to 
sustain  the  same  struggle !  I  seem  to  my- 
self to  behold  them,  as  they  were  then, 
proud  and  strong,  full  of  youth  and  enthu- 
siasm, interesting  on  account  of  the  recol- 


EMILY    PLATER.  213 

lections  of  the  past,  and  still  more  so  by 
the  victories  foreboded  by  their  fraternal 
union. 

Often  do  I  recall  to  memory  those 
glorious  and  delightful  moments,  when 
every  thing  smiled  on  our  cause,  and  every 
one  was  dreaming  of  victory.  And  I  do 
still  dream  of  victory,  even  as  I  did  then  ; 
but  I  can  scarcely  express  my  feelings 
further.  Being  under  the  necessity  of 
using  a  foreign  language,  I  feel  the  want  of 
suitable  expressions  for  conveying  a  just 
idea  of  the  true  Polish  feeling,  which  per- 
vades my  mind  and  soul. 

Joy  and  hilarity  predominate  in  all  the 
camp.  Everywhere  the  Lithuanians  are 
seen  mingling  with  the  Poles,  and  the  long 
evenings  are  spent  in  cheerfulness,  and 
unrestrained  conversations.  The  Lithua- 
nians relate  to  the  Poles  all  the  troubles 
they  have  undergone,  all  the  dangers  they 
have  been  exposed  to,  through  the  delay 
of  the  Poles,  and  the  hopeless  situation 
from  which  they  have  been  extricated  by 


214  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

the  arrival  of  their  brethren,  their  saviours. 
The  Poles,  on  the  other  hand,  speak  of  the 
29th  of  November,  of  the  battles  of  Gro- 
chow  and  Dembe ;  they  relate  to  us  prodi- 
gies of  valor  and  devotedness.  They 
mention  the  impatience  of  the  nation  to  fly 
to  the  assistance  of  the  Lithuanians,  and 
they  boldly  expressed  impatience,  which 
the  men  in  power  in  vain  attempted  to 
suppress. 

They  would  then  speculate  on  their 
new  hopes  and  new  projects,  and  on  that 
futurity  which,  to  those  ardent  youth  and 
patriotic  warriors,  seemed  so  smiling. 
The  whole  country  soon  assumed  a  war- 
like aspect.  Nothing  was  heard,  during 
the  day,  but  the  clashing  of  arms  in  the 
hands  of  the  insurgents,  whom  the  old 
soldiers  were  drilling.  In  the  evening, 
the  Polish  war  songs, — the  warlike  Maz- 
ourck  tie  Chlopkki,  the  simple  and  merry 
little  song  of  Krakus,  and  the  solemn 
hymn.  Honor  to  Poland, — resounded  in  the 
air  which  heretofore  had  alone  echoed  the 


EMILY    PLATER.  215 

plaintive  and  monotonous  chant  of  the 
Lithuanian  serfs.  The  call  of  the  vigilant 
sentinel  would  now  and  then  interrupt  the 
silence  of  the  night.  Every  one  was  in 
motion  in  the  country,  as  well  as  in  the 
camp.  Joy  filled  all  hearts,  and  hope 
sparkled  in  every  eye — hope  too  sanguine, 
indeed,  not  to  be  disappointed;  joy  too 
violent  to  last  long. 

While  the  soldiers  were  giving  them- 
selves up  to  their  joyous  mood  and  military 
exercises,  while  awaiting  the  days  of  strife, 
the  Polish  General,  with  the  principal 
chiefs  of  the  insurrection,  were  considering 
how  to  make  the  best  use  of  their  local 
advantages,  and  the  general  plan  of  the 
Campaign ;  resolving  to  risk  as  little  as 
possible,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  contest 
the  ground  inch  by  inch,  and  hand  to 
hand. 

The  Prince  Gabriel  Oginski  was  the 
first  to  show  that  spirit  of  disinterestedness 
which  ought  to  influence  every  true  patri- 
ot, by  surrendering  his  command  to  Gen- 


216  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

eral  Chlapowski ;  the  other  cliiefs  followed 
his  example,  and  also  resigned  their  pow- 
er, with  more  eagerness  than  ambitious 
men  generally  exhibit  in  seizing  it.  "  We 
devote  our  fortunes  and  our  lives,"  said 
they  in  their  address  of  June  the  10th, 
"  and,  in  return,  we  neither  ask  glory, 
titles  nor  rewards  ;  all  we  want  is  to  fulfil 
those  duties  which  belong  equally  to  every 
Pole,  and  which  the  long  sufferings  and 
the  wants  of  our  country  require  at  our 
hands. 

Chlapowski,  after  this  address,  thanked 
them,  in  the  name  of  Poland,  for  all  the 
Lithuanians  had  done  to  that  time,  for  the 
common  cause.  He  then  organized  his 
troops  and  appointed,  as  officers  over  them, 
old  experienced  military  men,  distributed 
arms  among  them,  and  gave  to  the  several 
chiefs,  such  appointments  as  he  thought 
they  were  entitled  to,  by  their  respective 
merits  and  capacity. 

Emily  Plater,  whose  fame  had  reached 
Poland,  and  which  was  spread,  indeed. 


EMILY    PLATER.  217 

all  over  Europe,  was  an  olyeet  of  particu- 
lar attention,  on  the  part  of  the  Polish 
General.  As  a  woman,  she  was  entitled  to 
that  consideration  which  is  due  to  the  sex  ; 
as  a  soldier,  she  was  deserving  of  the  es- 
teem and  admiration  of  her  compatriots ; 
besides,  her  devotedness  was  of  a  kind  al- 
together too  extraordinary  to  escape  the 
particular  notice  of  the  chiefs.  The  army- 
saw,  in  her,  one  of  those  sublime  beings 
which  nature  sometimes  produces,  as  glo- 
rious ornaments  to  the  human  race ;  and 
the  bards  of  tlie  camp,  inspired  by  her 
presence,  would  sing  the  exploits  of  the 
Joan  d'Arc  of  Poland.  Chlapowski  wel- 
comed her  in  a  most  flattering  manner,  but 
unwilling  to  see  her  precious  life  exposed 
to  the  dangers  of  the  field,  advised  her  to 
quit  the  army  and  rest  from  her  fatigues ; 
and  inasmuch  as  the  war,  in  consequence 
of  the  arrival  of  the  regular  troops,  would 
assume,  altogether,  a  new  and  regular  sys- 
tem, she  could  with  difiiculty  use,  to  ad- 
vantage, the  talents  she  had  displayed  dur- 

19 


218  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

ing  the  insurrection,  and  she  would  be  lost 
among  the  crowd  of  subaltern  officers  with 
wliich  the  army  was  well  supplied. 

The  observations  of  the  general  were 
correct,  but,  woman  and  Pole  as  she  was, 
Emily  persisted  in  her  design,  and  earnest- 
ly requested  to  be  admitted  into  the  ranks. 

"  As  long  as  Poland  is  not  entirely 
free,"  said  she,  "  my  vocation  is  that  of  a 
soldier,  and  as  I  am  espoused  to  the  cause 
of  my  country,  without  any  ambitious 
views,  I  will  not  abandon  it  at  a  moment 
when  dangers  are  more  threatening,  and 
battles  more  decisive." 

She  was  appointed  captain,  command- 
ing the  first  company  of  the  first  Lithua- 
nian regiment,  which,  a  few  days  after,  was 
known  as  the  twenty-fifth  of  the  line. 

At  the  same  time  the  news  was  re- 
ceived that  General  Gielgud,  with  a  Po- 
lish army,  had  crossed  the  Niemen,  and 
just  entered  Lithuania.  This  reinforce- 
ment seemed  to  add  a  great  deal  to  the 
chance  of  success,  but,  in  accordance  with 


EMILY    PLATER.  219 

that  fatality  which  has  always  pursued 
Poland,  it  served  merely  to  destroy  the 
cause  of  freedom,  by  disseminating  discord 
among  the  generals,  and  exciting  their 
petty  jealousies. 

It  was  remarked  from  the  first,  that 
Chlapowski  did  not  receive  this  news 
with  much  satisfaction ;  he  seemed  rather 
vexed  than  pleased,  and  it  was  in  vain 
that  he  endeavored  to  hide  his  vexation. 
Notwithstanding  his  patriotism,  he  was 
far  from  being  free  from  personal  ambition. 
The  wish  to  shine  and  fill  the  pages  of 
our  history  with  his  fame,  was  the  princi- 
pal motive  of  his  actions,  and  he  saw  in 
the  Polish  revolution,  not  only  the  deliver- 
ing of  his  country,  but  also  the  means  of 
acquiring  fame.  When  appointed  by  the 
general  in  chief,  the  commanding  officer 
of  the  expedition  into  Lithuania,  he  ac- 
cepted the  appointment  with  the  greatest 
eagerness,  notwithstanding  the  small  num- 
ber  of  troops  placed  under  his  command. 
He  feared  no  dangers,  and  already  thought 


220  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

himself  the  liberator  of  the  invaded  prov- 
inces, and   as  such,  that  his  nanne  would 
descend  to  posterity.     This  ambition,  un- 
til this  time  laudable  enough,  led  him  to 
display  all  the  resources  of  his  talents ;  and 
the  first  step  in  his  career  being  rather 
successful,  seemed  to  justify  the  anticipa- 
tion of  a  termination  corresponding  to  it. 
The  arrival  of  Gielgud  deranged  all  his 
plans.     As  this  officer  was  his  superior  in 
rank,  he  would,  of  course,  be  obliged  to  re- 
linquish  the  command  to  him,  and  every 
thing  would  be  done  under  the  name  of 
Gielgud  ;  and  on  this  officer  would  be  re- 
flected all  the  glory  of  successful  opera- 
tions, while  the   name  of  Chlapow^ski,  if 
mentioned  at  all,  would  come  in  as  sec- 
ond to  that  of  Gielgud,  or,  perhaps  even 
would  be   confounded  with  those  of  the 
crowd  of  officers  whose  duty  it  is  merely 
to  execute  the  orders  received  from  their 
superiors.     This  idea  was  revolting  to  him, 
and  his   zeal   began  to  abate.     He  now 
acted  with  unwillingness  and  reluctance, 


EMILY    PLATER. 


221 


and  too  weak  to  sacrifice  his  personal  in- 
terests to  his  country,  he  sacrificed  Poland 
to  the  satisfaction  of  mortifying  the  man 
he  considered  his  rival. 

On  the  other  hand,  Gielgud  was  a 
most  unfit  person  to  command  an  expedi- 
tion of  such  vast  importance — an  expedi- 
tion, the  result  of  which  must  have  a  pow- 
erful, as  well  as  immediate  influence,  upon 
the  fate  of  Poland.  His  corps,  after  the 
battle  of  Ostrolenka,  cut  off  from  the  rest 
of  the  army,  was  obliged  to  pass  into  Li- 
thuania, and  brought  with  it  desponden- 
cy, insubordination,  and  that  dejection  of 
mind  so  common  to  troops  in  such  circum- 
stances ;  troops,  too,  who  entertained 
more  contempt  for,  than  confidence  in, 
their  chief.  Gielgud  did  not  attempt 
to  repress  this  moral  disorganization ; — he 
trusted  to  chance. 

He  was  the  son  of  one  of  the  confeder- 
ates of  Targovvi^a,  whose  odious  plot,  in 
1792,  brought  on  the  second  dismember- 
ment of  Poland,  and  destroyed  all  the  ad- 

19* 


222  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

vantages  of  the  constitution  of  the  3d  of 
May.     A  favorite  with  the  Grand  Duke 
Constantine,  his  patriotism  could  not  be 
undoubted.     Besides,  he  was  too  insignifi- 
cant  himself  to  inspire  his   compatriots, 
the  Lithuanians,  with   much  confidence. 
Gielgud  had   also   some    ambition  of  his 
own,  but  it  was  as  pitiful  as  his  own  soul, 
and  as  base  as  his  character.     Glory  and 
posterity  possessed  but  a  moderate  share 
of  his'  admiration.     All  human  greatness, 
in  his  estimation,  consists  in  personal  hon- 
ors, and  these,  therefore,  were  the  objects 
of  his  wishes.     The  title  of  commander  in 
chief  of  a  separate  corps  was  enough  to 
intoxicate  him.     The  honors  he  received, 
on  his  entry  into  Lithuania,  completely 
turned  his  head,  and,  treated  as  a  great 
man  by  the  wliim  of  fortune,  he    really 
thought  himself  such.     Advice  wounded 
his  vanity,  and  he  rejected  it  with   arro- 
gance.    It  w^as  in  vain  the  superior  ofii- 
cers  represented  and  urged  that,  in  their 
actual   situation,   every   thing    depended 


EMILY    PLATER.  223 

upon  readiness  of  decision  and  action ;  he 
nevertheless  followed  his  own  way.  It 
seemed  as  if  he  had  no  other  object  in 
view  than  the  enjoyment  of  the  dignity 
chance  had  thrown  in  his  way,  for  he 
spent  all  his  time  in  feasts  and  pleasures. 

This  incapacity  and  indifference  of 
one  of  the  generals,  and  the  lukewarm- 
ness  manifested  by  the  other,  ruined  the 
cause  of  the  insurrection,  just  at  the  mo- 
ment it  seemed  to  have  gained  stability. 
The  Russians,  who  were  then  dispersed 
all  over  Lithuania  in  pursuit  of  the  insur- 
gents, and  in  that  situation  too  weak  to 
oppose  the  united  forces  of  the  insurgents, 
availed  themselves  of  this  inaction,  on  the 
part  of  our  troops,  to  concentrate  their 
own  forces.  Gen.  Diebitsch,  being  inform- 
ed of  the  arrival  of  the  Poles,  sent  Gen. 
Kourouta,  who,  at  the  same  time  with 
Tosltoi,  advanced,  by  forced  marches,  to 
the  relief  of  Wilna. 

It  was  then  the  shout  of  indignation, 
raised  by  the  whole  army,  recalled  Gen. 


224  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

Gielgud  to  his  duty.  Tlie  favorable  mo- 
ment had  passed ;  Wilna,  whose  garrison 
before  consisted  of  only  three  thousand 
men,  had  now,  within  its  limits,  thirty 
thousand  men,  well  intrenched  and  ac- 
tively employed  in  preparing  for  its  de- 
fence. 

Gielgud  did  not  hesitate  to  offer  them 
battle  under  the  very  walls  of  the  city; 
they  accepted  the  challenge,  and  the 
fight  was  a  bloody  one.  The  Polish 
troops  worthily  sustained  their  reputation, 
but  the  want  of  order  and  discipline 
neutralized  their  bravery  and  heroism. 
Knowing  that  they  had  to  deal  with  Rus- 
sians, and  that  their  freedom  and  country 
were  at  stake,  they  rushed  with  impet- 
uosity on  the  masses  of  the  enemy ;  and 
their  efforts  would,  of  necessity,  have  been 
crowned  w^ith  success,  had  they  been  bet- 
ter guided.  But  what  is  courage  without 
discipline  7  An  heroic  death,  seldom  vic- 
tory, is  the  natural  result. 

This  battle,  w  hich  we  ought  to  add  de- 


EMILY    PLATER.  225 

cided  nothing,  afforded  to  the  Russians  an 
example  of  the  impetuous  courage  of  the 
Poles ;  but  it  also  revealed  to  them  the 
inferiority  of  their  generals  as  well  as  the 
weak  points  of  their  army.  Embolden- 
ed by  this  first  advantage,  and  relying 
on  the  want  of  discipline  of  their  adver- 
saries, the  Russians  resumed  the  offen- 
sive, and  compelled  Gielgud  to  recede 
daily.  Notwithstanding  the  promise  ex- 
torted from  the  commander  in  chief,  Emi- 
ly was  not  present  at  the  battle  of  Wil- 
na.  She  was  obliged  to  follow  her  regi- 
ment to  Kowno,  an  important  post  situ- 
ated at  the  confluence  of  the  Wilia  and 
the  Niemen,  and  which  was  to  serve  as 
a  point  through  which  communication 
might  be  effected  between  Poland  and 
the  insurgents  of  the  Palatinate  of  Au- 
goustow. 

In  the  rank  of  captain,  which  the  com- 
mander in  chief  hrfd  conferred  on  her, 
Emily  saw  but  the  means  of  being  useful 
to  her  country ;  she  therefore  applied  her- 


226  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

self  to  the  study  of  military  tactics,  and 
patiently  bore  the  heat  of  a  burning  day 
in  June,  as  well  as  the  chill  of  nights.  She 
was  a  model  to  her  men,  and  the  object  of 
their  admiration.  She  seemed  endowed 
with  supernatural  strength,  when  all  in 
her  was  the  effect  of  energy  and  firm  re- 
solve :  her  frail  and  delicate  health  was 
greatly  impaired.  Unfortunate  woman  ! 
thrown  as  she  was  into  the  midst  of  dan- 
gers and  fatigues,  she,  whom  nature  had 
destined  for  the  luxury  of  the  boudoir,  to- 
tally unmindful,  as  she  was,  of  the  com- 
forts of  life,  she  soon  experienced  the  dire 
effects  of  her  military  life  upon  her  deli- 
cate constitution.  But  she  w^as  never 
heard  to  utter  a  single  word  of  dissatisfac- 
tion, or  the  least  murmur  of  complaint. 
She  was  resolved  to  abide  by  all  the  con- 
sequences of  the  war.  She  ever  kept  her- 
self actively  employed,   and   worked    as 

• 

hard  as  if  it  had  been  her  inevitable  desti- 
ny. The  first  company,  the  men  of  which 
being  just  arrived,  were  yet  in  the  fresh- 


EMILY    PLATER.  227 

ness  of  their  ardor  and  patriotism,  soon 
became  the  choice  company  of  the  regi- 
ment. 

When  the  news  of  the  defeat  of  the 
Poles,  before  Wilna,  reached  Kowno,  the 
troops,  whose  confidence  in  the  Poles  was 
almost  enthusiastic,  were  disheartened. 
It  seemed  to  them  that  such  troops  ought 
to  be  invincible,  and,  to  Emily,  it  gave  an 
overwhelming  blow.  It  seemed  to  her 
that  a  thunderbolt  had  struck  the  cause 
of  the  insurgents  to  the  heart,  and  that 
this  defeat  would  disgrace  the  Polish 
name.  Nevertheless  she  succeeded  in 
overcoming  her  grief;  and  by  palliating  the 
faults  of  the  generals,  extenuating  the  loss 
of  the  army  as  much  as  possible,  and  attribu- 
ting Gielgud's  precipitate  retreatto  certain 
mancEuvres  designed  to  draw  the  Russians 
out  of  their  intrenchments,  she  succeeded 
in  restoring  the  courage  of  her  men ;  but 
within  herself,  she  felt  sad  and  gloomy, 
and  was  consumed  with  her  silent  suffer- 
insjs  and  her  own  discouragements.    Alas ! 


228  LIFE    OP    THE    COUNTESS 

"vvas  such  a  holy  cause,  commenced  under 
such  auspices,  to  miscarry  through  the 
incapacity  of  its  commanders  7  The  fu- 
ture freedom  of  the  country,  her  own  fu- 
ture well-being,  (for  was  not  her  very  life 
identified  with  the  cause  she  had  espous- 
ed 7)  were  to  be  thus  prostrated ; — and 
then  she  would  lament  her  absence  from 
the  battle.  "  At  least,"  would  she  say, 
"  death  would  have  been  far  preferable  to 
defeat,  and  I  would  sooner  have  died  than 
yield." 

But  she  was  soon  roused  from  these  re- 
flections by  the  imminent  danger  of  that 
death  which  she  was  regretting  the  not 
having  hazarded. 

After  the  battle  of  Wilna,the  Russians, 
as  we  have  already  mentioned,  assumed 
theofi'ensive,  and  hotly  pursued  the  Poles. 
Kowno,  which  as  before  observed  was 
by  its  position  an  important  point  with 
regard  to  the  plan  of  operations  Gen. 
Gielgud  had  adopted,  must  of  necessity 
have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Rus- 


EMILY    PLATER.  229 

sian  commander  ;  —  the  garrison  being 
weak,  the  place  could  be  carried  by  a 
bold  onset. 

Provided  with  this  information,  Tolstoi 
sent,  on  the  25th  June,  a  pretty  strong  de- 
tachment before  the  city. 

Col.  Kiekiernicki,  who  commanded 
the  place,  unfortunately  thought  proper  to 
disregard  the  intelligence,  which  came  to 
him  from  every  direction,  and  never  even 
thought  of  blowing  up  the  bridge  over  the 
Wilia,  which  offered  an  easy  ingress  to  the 
enemy.  This  was  an  error  !  The  colonel, 
with  a  weak  regiment  of  badly  armed  con- 
scripts, with  scarcely  a  hundred  horse, 
could  hardly  expect  to  withstand  the 
attack  of  the  Russians. 

This  imprudent  conduct,  on  the  part  of 
Col.  Kiekiernicki,  was  attended  with  fatal 
consequences,  not  only  to  himself,  but  also 
to  the  whole  army ;  for  it  caused  the  total 
loss  of  the  regiment  Gielgud  had  confided 
to  him. 

The  enemy,  once  in  possession  of  the 

20 


230  LIFE    OP    THE    COUNTESS 

bridge,  crossed  the  river  without  meeting 
an  obstacle,  and  rushed  at  once  on  the 
weak  columns  of  the  Poles,  which  they 
overcome  without  difficulty.  Overwhelm- 
ed by  numbers  and  by  the  artillery,  the 
25th  of  the  line  began  to  give  way ;  now 
the  ranks  are  all  disorder,  the  confusion 
increases,  cartridges  are  exhausted,  and 
our  men,  deprived  of  all  the  means  of  re- 
sistance, either  allow  themselves  to  be 
butchered  by  the  Russians,  or  seek  safety 
in  flight. 

Stationed  on  the  right  of  the  line,  Emi- 
ly Plater  maintained  her  position  with  her 
company ;  she  received  the  charge  of  the 
Russians  with  unflinching  firmness ;  but 
as  the  artillery  thinned  her  ranks  more  and 
more,  she  was,  at  last,  forced  to  retreat. 
This  intrepid  heroine  gave  not  up  until 
the  last,  and  she  made  the  enemy  pay 
dearly  for  every  inch  of  ground  they 
gained  upon  her;  they  fought  almost  hand 
to  hand. 

Her    regiment    was   nearly    all    shot 


EMILY    PLATER.  231 

down,  hardly  one-third  of  it  remaining 
and  although  surrounded  by  the  Russians 
on  all  sides,  yet  she  continued  to  fight ;  but 
it  is  no  longer  for  victory  nor  to  break 
through  the  battalions  of  Cossacks  that 
she  rushed  into  the  midst  of  them,  in  de- 
fiance of  a  thousand  deaths ;  it  is  to  avoid 
falling  alive  into  the  hands  of  the  Rus- 
sians ;  she  wished  to  leave  them  nothing 
but  her  dead  body 

Kiekiernicki,  the  first  cause  of  this 
bloody  slaughter,  being  closely  pursued  by 
the  Russians,  arrived  at  the  place  where 
our  heroine  had  been  so  long  holding  out 
in  such  an  unequal  contest.  As  soon  as 
he  perceived  her,  he  cleared  his  way  to 
her  through  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  and 
offering  her  his  horse,  entreats  her  to  save 
a  life  so  precious  to  the  army,  and  at  least, 
spare  him  the  grief  of  her  death.  She  re- 
fused him,  but  seemed  uncertain  how  to 
decide  for  herself.  Overcome,  at  length, 
by  the  entreaties  of  the  colonel,  and  the 
solicitations  of  her  men,  who  had  formed 


232  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

a  fence  around  her  with  their  own  bodies, 
she  retired.  It  was  quite  time  she  did  so; 
her  strength  being  so  exhausted  as  to  ren- 
der her  unable  to  stand  any  longer ;  her 
sword  fell  from  her  grasp,  she  could  no 
longer  offer  any  resistance.  But,  at  last, 
making  a  final  effort,  she  gathered  her  re- 
maining strength,  and  rushing  with  a  shout 
into  the  midst  of  the  Cossacks,  she  cuts 
and  thrusts,  and  at  length  succeeds  in 
opening  for  herself  a  path  through  them, 
which  she  covers  with  their  bodies. 

But  while  she  was  escaping  from  the 
Russians,  Col.  Kiekiernicki  was  falling 
into  their  power,  with  the  sweet  consola- 
tion of  having  performed  an  act  worthy 
of  an  honest  man  and  a  loyal  soldier. 

Having  so  miraculously  escaped  the 
bloody  affair  of  Kowno,  Emily  repaired  to 
Rosienie,  where  the  broken  remains  of  the 
25th  of  the  line  had  received  orders  to 
rendezvous,  and  replenish  its  ranks  from 
the  insurgents  of  Samogitia. 


EMILY    PLATER.  233 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Battles  of  Schawle  and  Schawlany.— The  Polish  army 
is  divided  into  three  corps. — Emily  joins  that  of  Gen, 
Chlapowski,  and  leaves  it  on  its  entering  Prussia. — 
She  wishes  to  pass  into  Poland. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  follow  the 
Polish    Generals    in   Lithuania;    I   shall 
speak  of  their  disastrous   campaign,  only 
so  far  as  its  events  may  have  any  relation 
to  the  life  of  the  heroine,  whose  biography 
I  am  now  writing.     Others  will  narrate 
these  events,  and  pass  judgment  on  the 
errors  of  Gielgud  and  Chlapowski ;  errors 
so   numerous    and   glaring,   that   history 
alone  can  decide  whether  they  were  the 
result  of  incapacity  or  treason.    Whatever 
may  be  that  judgment,  we  may  safely  as- 
sert, that,  from  this  very  day,  all  the  chiefs 
of  the  Polish  army  in  Lithuania,  incurred 
nothing  but  shame  and  ignominy.     They 

20* 


234  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

demoralized  and  disorganized  this  army 
by  unaccountable  delays  and  losses  of 
time;  and  they  harassed  it  by  marches 
and  counter-marches,  which  were  as  use- 
less as  they  were  numerous.  They  seemed 
to  have  no  particular  object  in  view,  and 
to  trust  every  thing  to  chance.  Disorder 
prevailed  in  the  ranks,  without  the  least 
effort  on  their  part  to  repress  it;  and, 
moreover,  the  culpable  inertness  of  the 
central  government,  arbitrarily  establish- 
ed by  Gielgud,  without  the  concurrence 
or  consent  of  the  Lithuanians,  paralyzed 
the  whole  expedition,  and  rendered  un- 
available all  the  resources  which  the  de- 
votedness  and  patriotism  of  the  invaded 
provinces  might,  otherwise,  have  afforded. 
The  arrival  of  the  Polish  General  into 
Lithuania  gave  the  fatal  blow  to  the  in- 
surrection. He  called  in  all  the  detach- 
ments, and  incorporated  them  into  the  old 
regiments,  as  if  thousands  of  men  could  be 
transformed  into  properly  drilled  soldiers 
by  a  single  dash  of  the  pen. 


EMILY    PLATER.  235 

By  this  measure,  which  necessity  even 
cannot  justify,  and  the  fatal  consequences 
of  which  the  chiefs  of  the  insurrection 
frankly  warned  him,  Gielgud  added  an- 
other cause  of  disorder  to  those  already 
existing  in  the  army,  and  moreover  left 
the  country  opened  and  exposed  to  the 
vengeance  of  the  Russians,  as  well  as  to 
the  dreadful  effects  of  a  reaction.  The 
Russians  had  not  now  to  contend  with  a 
force  spread  over  the  entire  surface  of  the 
country ;  all  they  had  to  do  was  to  com- 
plete the  destruction  of  the  remains  of  an 
army  which  was  weak  and  isolated,  lack- 
ing all  kinds  of  munitions,  and  commanded 
by  a  chief  destitute  of  the  necessary 
talents. 

The  citizens  of  Lithuania,  deserted  by 
their  protectors,  wavered  between  the  fear 
of  persecution  and  their  duties  as  patriots. 
Had  patriotism  prevailed  with  them,  they 
did  not  know  on  whom  to  depend.  They 
were  endeavoring  to  find  means  of  being 
useful  to   the  cause  of  independence,  but 


236  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

could  see  no  possible  way  to  effect  their 
purpose.  Surrounded,  on  all  sides,  by  hos- 
tile armies,  stripped  of  every  thing,  and 
perceiving  no  prospect  of  victory,  or  even 
a  chance  for  safety,  the  army  was  fast 
losing  whatever  discipline  yet  remained  to 
it.  It  was  indeed  a  body  undergoing  de- 
composition, and  which  the  least  collision 
must  destroy.  The  chiefs  themselves  were 
ignorant  of  the  movements  of  the  enemy, 
and  took  no  trouble  whatever  to  obtain 
information.  Their  capacity  being  totally 
inadequate  to  the  duties  of  the  important 
charge  committed  to  them,  they  despaired 
of  that  sublime  cause  of  freedom  which, 
we  must  add,  they  never  understood,  and 
left  the  decision  entirely  to  chance. 

The  patriots,  seeing  the  turn  which  af- 
fairs had  taken,  deeply  lamented  the  fate 
of  their  country,  their  past  disasters,  as 
well  as  those  greater  ones  which  they  clear- 
ly saw  were  impending.  Having  no  con- 
fidence in  their  generals,  they  foresaw  no 
possibility  of  being  extricated  from  their 


EMILY    PLATER.  237 

painful  situation,  and  abandoned  them- 
selves to  despair. — For  a  long  time  they 
indulged  the  hope  that  the  command 
would  be  given  up  to  Chlapowski;  but 
owing  to  his  ridiculous  disinterestedness, 
they  were  deceived  in  their  expectations. 
He  wanted  to  make  a  show  of  subordina- 
tion, while  in  fact,  at  the  bottom  of  his 
heart,  this  office  was  the  climax  of  his  am- 
bition. Besides,  had  this  change  been  ef- 
fected, it  would  have  been,  to  the  army,  a 
change  of  names  merely,  for,  as  the  sequel 
proved,  Gielgud  was  almost  as  good  as 
Chlapowski. 

Emily's  noble  and  generous  heart  bled 
at  the  sight  of  her  country's  calamities, 
and  the  deep  sorrow  caused  by  these  mis- 
fortunes, affected  her  frail  and  delicate 
health  more  sensibly,  even,  than  the  fa- 
tigues which  she  had  undergone.  Placed 
by  her  rank  in  the  army,  in  an  inferior  po- 
sition, she  could  exert  no  influence  what- 
ever upon  the  method  of  conducting  the 
war,  and  all  she  could  do  was  to  bewail 


238  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

the  fate  of  her  country.  Her  only  solace 
was  the  reflection  that  she  should  not  sur- 
vive it ;  for  she  never,  for  a  moment,  enter- 
tained the  idea  of  seeking  refuge  in  a  for- 
eign clime,  where  the  compassion  of  its  in- 
habitants might  afford  her  protection.  Al- 
though in  a  complete  state  of  despair,  she 
yet  remained  faithful  to  her  country  in  the 
day  of  its  calamities.  She  even  felt  an 
enthusiastic  attachment  to  it,  and  contin- 
ued to  discharge  her  duties  with  the  same 
punctuality,  and  to  take  care  of  the  com- 
pany which  remained  under  her  command, 
with  the  same  zeal  as  before,  and  this,  too, 
with  the  overwhelming  conviction  that  all 
that  she  could  do  was  then  useless,  and 
that  nothing  could  extricate  Gen.  Gielgud 
from  the  diflficulties  in  which  his  unman- 
nerly stubbornness  had  involved  him. 

The  affair  of  Schawle,  in  giving  the 
last  blow  to  the  Polish  army,  completed,  in 
a  suitable  manner,  the  series  of  blunders 
(if  I  may  use  so  mild  an  expression)  which 
signalized    the    campaign   in   Lithuania. 


EMILY    PLATER.  239 

Gielgud,  whom  the  Russians  were  chasing, 
not  knowing  which  way  to  turn,  conceived 
the  mad  idea  (God  knows  why)*  of  as- 
saulting Schawle,  a  little  paltry  town, 
which  it  has  pleased  the  Lithuanians  to 
adorn  with  the  pompous  name  of  citij^  and 
which  is,  in  fact,  nothing  but  an  assem- 
blage of  a  few  miserable  huts  almost  in 
ruins. 

At  that  place,  in  an  intrenchment  has- 
tily thrown  up,  was  a  detachment  of  three 
thousand  Russians,  w^io,  in  all  probability, 
could  not  long  have  withstood  the  attacks 
of  the  Poles,  who  were  five  times  that  num- 
ber. The  result  unfortunately  proved  the 
contrary.  Generals  Gielgud  and  Chlap- 
owski,  who  were  conjointly  the  command- 
ers during  the  battle,  saw  themselves  com- 
pletely beaten.     Not  only  was  the    city 

*  This  is  the  expression  used  by  Chlapowski,  at  that 
time  chief  of  the  staff:  "  We  took  up  the  line  of  march 
in  order  to  attack  Schawle,  Dieu  salt  pourqiioi !  See 
his  letters  on  the  military  events  of  Poland  and  Lithuania, 
Berlin,  1S34,  page  -1:2. 


240  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

not  taken,  but  our  ranks  were  horribly 
thinned  ;  and  our  ammunition,  which  it 
was  highly  essential  to  be  sparing  of,  was 
entirely  exhausted. 

The  25th  of  the  line,  after  the  disas- 
trous affair  of  Kowno,  had  been  sent  to  es- 
cort the  baggage  of  the  army  to  Schawle, 
through  another  route ;  but,  by  some  fa- 
tality attached  to  that  regiment,  they  fell 
into  an  ambush  which  the  Russians  had 
set  in  the  vicinity  of  Schawlany.  The  un- 
avoidable disaster  attending  an  unexpect- 
ed attack  in  a  narrow  road,  and  in  the  midst 
of  a  dense  forest,  was  greatly  increased 
by  the  confusion  of  wagons,  and  the  horses 
becoming  unmanageable.  Notwithstand- 
ing these  disadvantages,  they  made  an  in- 
trepid defence,  and  came  off  with  the  loss, 
merely,  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
baggage,  which,  in  fact,  they  cared  but  lit- 
tle for.  After  the  conflict  was  over,  the 
commanding  officer  could  not  fmd  over  a 
hundred  men  of  his  whole  regiment.  The 
rest,  who  were,  for  the  the  most  part,  new 


EMILY    PLATER.  241 

recruits,  had  improved  this  opportunity  to 
desert  their  colors.  He  brought  them 
back,  towards  evening,  to  the  vicinity  of 
the  village  of  Kourszany,  where  he  found 
the  army  resting  after  its  discomfiture.  In 
Gen.  Gielgud's  report  of  the  engagement 
in  the  forest,  he  compliments  Capt.  Emily 
Plater  on  her  great  courage  and  intrepidi- 
ty, as  well  as  her  astonishing  coolness 
amidst  the  most  imminent  dangers. 

The  infamous  conduct  of  tl^e  comman- 
der in  chief  of  the  army  could  no  longer 
be  overlooked.  It  was  no  longer  possible 
for  him  to  retain  the  command,  as  he  had 
become  the  object  of  execration,  not  only 
to  the  officers,  but  also  to  every  private  in 
the  army,  by  w^hom  he  was  openly  called 
the  author  of  all  our  disasters,  and  some 
even  went  so  far  as  to  accuse  him  of  trea- 
son. 

The  critical  situation  in  which  we 
were  placed,  rendered  it  highly  necessary 
to  call  a  council  of  war.  This  was  con- 
voked on  the  next  night,  and  after  a  long 

21 


242  LIFE  OF  THE  COUNTESS 

discussion  on  the  means  of  saving  the 
army,  it  was  tinally  resolved  to  retreat 
into  Poland. 

Gielgud,  in  consequence  of  this  decision, 
lost  his  command  ;  the  army  w^as  divided 
into  three  separate  corps,  and  the  com- 
mand of  each  confided  to  Gen.  Chlapow- 
ski,  Rohland  and  Dembinski,  who  were  to 
act  separately,  the  better  to  enable  them 
to  effect  a  passage  over  the  Niemen. 

As  soon  as  the  order  was  promulgated, 
each  one  prepared  himself  to  follow  the 
general  who  most  fully  possessed  his  con- 
fidence. The  fictitious  confidence  attach- 
ed to  the  name  of  Gen.  Chlapovvski,  al- 
though much  diminished  by  the  inactivity 
and  indifference  which  he  had  displayed, 
while  chief  of  Gielgud's  staff,  induced  al- 
most every  one  to  believe  that  he,  alone, 
could  effect  that  retreat  as  skilfully  as  he 
had,  six  weeks  before,  effected  his  entrance 
into  Lithuania,  by  means  as  bold  as  they 
were  ingenious.  Consequently  the  great- 
est part  placed  themselves  under  his  com- 


EMILY    PLATER.  243 

mand ;  and  Emily  Plater,  whose  regiment 
no  longer  existed,  sharing  in  this  opinion, 
or  rather  the  general  error,  joined  and  fol- 
lowed him. 

The  general  confidence  reposed  in  the 
talents  of  Chlapowski  would  not  allow 
them,  for  a  moment,  to  doubt  a  successful 
return  into  Poland,  where  every  one 
hoped  to  clear  himself  of  the  disgrace  with 
which  Gielgud  had  covered  the  whole 
army.  They  were  all  ready  to  make  any 
sacrifice  for  the  attainment  of  this  object. 
The  burning  of  the  baggage  excited  but  a 
slight  murmur.  They  considered  as  noth- 
ing their  continual  marches  and  want  of 
food  and  rest ;  the  anticipation  of  rejoining 
the  standards  of  their  brethren  alone  con- 
stituted their  support  and  consolation. 

We  had  thus  proceeded  by  forced 
marches,  for  two  days  and  two  nights, 
without  meeting  a  single  enemy,  and  we 
began  to  hope  that  he  had  lost  all  traces 
of  us,  and  that  soon  our  wishes  would  be 
realized,  when,  toward  the  beginning  of 


244  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

the  third  day,  we  descried  the  bounda- 
ries of  Prussia.  We  halted,  and  Chla- 
powski  then  informed  us,  that  for  us  to 
reach  PoLand  in  safety  was  impracticable, 
and  that  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  take 
advantage  of  the  only  chance  of  safety  re- 
maining to  us,  namely  the  protection  of 
Prussia. 

It  would  be  difficult  indeed  to  give  an 
idea  of  tlie  effect  which  this  unexpected 
decision  produced  in  the  army,  and  of  the 
consternation  which  pervaded  it.  To  lay 
down  those  arms,  the  sole  dependence  of 
our  dearest  hopes ;  to  surrender  ourselves, 
of  our  own  free  will  and  accord,  prisoners 
to  a  power  which,  although  neutral,  was  yet 
hostile  to  our  cause,  and  thus  see  Prussia 
triumph  over  us;  to  rot  in  inaction  when 
our  country  was  in  danger  and  required 
all  the  efforts  of  her  sons  to  help  her  ;  to 
lead  a  wretched  life  in  shame  and  dis- 
grace ;  to  have  to  blush  before  the  stranger 
as  well  as  our  compatriots,  who  would 
brand  us  with  cowardice  and  perhaps  trca- 


EMILY    PLATER.  245 

son, — how  exasperating  were  such  consid- 
erations !  How  distressing  suilA  prospects 
to  a  Pole  ! 

But  if,  on  the  one  hand,  honor  revolt- 
ed at  such  an  ignominious  retreat,  on  the 
other,  the  imagination,  struck  with  such  a 
frightful  picture  of  our  situation,  a  picture 
shaded  with  its  own  sombre  hues,  repre- 
sented the  return  into  Poland  as  imprac- 
ticable or  as  impossible.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  then,  that  the  greatest  part 
of  the  army,  though  with  hearts  bursting 
with  grief  and  shame,  followed  the  gene- 
ral into  the  Prussian  territory;  and  yet 
some,  who  were  endowed  with  a  most  en- 
ergetic spirit  and  heroic  courage,  rushed 
headlong  amid  the  Russians,  with  a  faint 
expectation  of  forcing  their  way  through 
them  into  Poland,  and  thus  being  yet  able 
to  serve  the  cause  of  independence. 

Emily  Plater,  who  was  not  surpassed  in 
courage  and  patriotism  by  any  one,  eX' 
perienced,  throughout,  these  feelings  in 
common  with  her  companions  in  arms,  but 

21* 


246  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

ill  a  greater  degree ;  for,  being  a  woman, 
she  loved  l#r  country  as  a  woman  knows 
how  to  love,  having  fought  for  it  with  the 
most  manly  courage.  Her  noble  and  en- 
thusiastic soul  had  but  one  wish,  and  that 
was  to  save  her  country,  or  to  die  for  it, 
should  it  become  necessary.  With  her 
the  sacrifice  w^as  as  sincere  as  it  was 
entire.  She  could  not  bring  herself  to 
believe  that  all  was  lost  beyond  hope. 
She  was  neither  dejected  nor  discour- 
aged. The  love  of  country  afiforded  her 
the  needful  strength  to  bear  the  weight 
of  misfortunes  which  overwhelmed  us. 
Her  firm  conviction  of  the  justice  of  our 
cause  nourished  hope  in  her  own  heart. 
During  the  whole  of  this  retreat,  she 
appeared  calm  and  resigned,  hoping  for 
better  dayl,  and  feeding  her  imagination 
with  heroic  projects.  Often  she  would 
deem  herself  in  Poland,  making  her  en- 
trance into  Warsaw,  whence  she  was  as- 
sisting, as  it  seemed  to  her,  to  expel  the 
Russians,  when  a  report  reached  her  that 


EMILY    PLATER.  247 

she    was    to    finish    all    her   dreams    in 
Prussia. 

At  first,  she  refused  to  believe  a  word 
of  it,  and  ran  to  Chlapowski  to  ascertain 
the  truth  of  it.  At  the  first  words  of  the 
general,  she  resigned  all  hope,  and  the 
truth  appeared  before  her  eyes  in  all  its 
gloomy  horror.  Then,  a  sublime  scene 
took  place  in  Chlapowski's  tent.  A  female, 
weak  and  timid,  though  strong  in  patriot- 
ism, and  as  full  of  hatred  for  the  Russians 
as  she  was  of  contempt  for  cowards  and 
traitors,  dared  to  face  him,  and  reproach 
him  with  his  base,  ignominious  conduct. 
"  You  have  betrayed  the  confidence  re- 
posed in  you,"  said  she  to  him ;  "  you  have 
betraved  the  cause  of  freedom  and  of  our 
country,  as  well  as  of  honor.  As  for  my- 
self, I  will  not  follow  your  steps  into  a 
foreign  country  to  expose  my  shame  to 
strangers.  Some  blood  yet  remains  in  my 
veins,  and  I  have  still  left  an  arm  to  raise 
the  sword  against  the  enemy.  I  have  a 
proud  heart,  too,  which  never  will  submit 
to  the  ignominy  of  treason.   Go  to  Prussia ! 


248  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

Your  representation  of  our  situation  does 
not  affright  me.  I  prefer  a  thousand  deaths 
to  dishonor,  and  I  fear  not  to  encounter 
them  while  forcing  my  way  through  the 
Russian  battalions,  in  order  to  go  and  offer 
to  my  country  this  sword,  which  I  have 
already  raised  in  her  defence,  and  the 
sacrifice  of  my  life,  if  necessary. 

As  soon  as  she  had  left  the  general's 
tent,  she  collected  her  friends,  and  commu- 
nicated to  them  the  scene  which  had  just 
taken  place,  and,  also,  the  unalterable 
resolution  which  she  had  taken.  Death, 
in  the  most  frightful  shape,  appeared  to 
her  preferable  to  infamy.  She,  therefore, 
lost  not  a  moment.  The  same  evening, 
she  left  the  army,  accompanied  by  her  in- 
dispensable friend  Mary  Kaszanowicz,  and 
Count  Caesar  Plater,  who  wished  to  share 
her  dangers  as  well  as  her  glory. 

The  next  day.  Gen.  Chlapovvski  gave 
up  his  sword  to  the  Prussian  authorities, 
who  were  astonished  to  see  a  Pole  lay 
down  his  arms. 


EMILY    PLATER.  249 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Emily  is  overcome  by  fatigue  in  the  midst  of  her  march. — 
She  is  taken  sick. — Her  sufferings. — Her  death. — Her 
character. — Conclusion. 

Ten  days  after  this  event,  three  per- 
sons might  be  seen  reclining  upon  a  knoll, 
surrounded  by  a  marsh  and  the  thick 
forests  of  Augustin.  They  are  clad  in  the 
common  dress  of  the  peasants  of  the  coun- 
try. They  have  on  coarse  linen  frocks, 
and  their  feet  are  covered  with  sandals  of 
bark.  But  their  noble  and  delicate  fea- 
tures betray  their  real  station ;  and 
those  arms,  carefully  concealed  under  their 
garments,  show  that  they  belong  to  the 
remains  of  the  Lithuanian  army,  which 
the  Russians  are  everywhere  in  pursuit 
of.  They  seem  to  be  impatiently  and 
anxiously  waiting  for  some  one,  although 
a  profound  silence  prevails  among  them, 
and  they  are   startled  at  the  least  noise. 


250  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

"  Cover  your  arms,  Emily,"  says  one  of 
them  in  a  low  voice,  "  the  air  is  damp  and 
we  have  but  little  powder."  These  are 
the  only  words  which  are  uttered  duritig  a 
long  and  fruitless  expectation  of  three  or 
four  hours. 

How  deeply  affecting  is  the  spectacle 
of  these  noble  children  of  Poland,  con- 
cealed in  the  thickets,  in  the  midst  of  hos- 
tile battalions,  and  who  are  thus  encoun- 
tering hardships,  death  and  slavery,  in 
order  to  join  the  battles  of  their  country, 
and  serve  her  to  the  last! 

Sublime  patriotism  !  Unquenchable 
flame,  which,  like  the  magnetic  force  in 
the  natural  world,  animates  the  soul,  and 
endues  it  with  power  to  execute  things 
which  are  seemingly  beyond  the  limit  of 
human  achievement!  Glorious  sentiments 
of  devotedness,  ready  for  any  sacrifice, 
regardless  of  danger  and  suffering,  how 
worthy  of  our  deep  respect  and  admira- 
tion ;  and  how  pitiful  the  soul  which  can- 
not understand  you ! 


EMILY    PLATER.  251 

The  sun  was  beginning  to  decline,  the 
woods  re-echoed  the  lowings  of  the  flocks, 
which  were  leaving  their  pasture,  and  the 
plaintive  and  monotonous  song  of  the  herds- 
man, who  was  leading  them  back  to  the 
village.  The  evening  was  dark  and 
cloudy;  very  soon,  a  cold  fine  rain  set  in ; 
the  young  people  wrapped  themselves  up 
as  well  as  they  were  able  in  their  misera- 
ble frocks,  but  they  did  not  dare  to  leave 
their  retreats  in  order  to  go  to  seek  shelter 
in  some  cottage. 

"  How  slow  in  returning !"  said  the 
youngest  of  the  three,  smiling. 

"  Have  no  fear,  Mary,"  was  the  reply, 
"  our  guide  is  a  Samogitian,  and  the  faith  of 
the  Samogitians  has  been  well  proved. 
Some  obstacle,  without  doubt,  has  detained 
him  beyond  the  appointed  hour,  but  he  will 
soon  return,  and  I  hope  we  shall  resume 
our  journey  to-night." 

"  That  is  if  he  brings  us  something  to 
eat,"  said  Mary  ;  "  for  it  is  now  twenty- 
four  hours  since  we  partook  of  food,  and  I 


252  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

feel  that  I  have  great  need  of  refresh- 
ment." 

"  Have  courage  ladies,"  said  Caesar 
Plater,  smiling,  "  and  our  misfortunes  will 
soon  be  ended.  Our  journey,  as  you  well 
know,  has  been  thus  far  difficult  and  disa- 
greeable, but  the  most  difficult  part  of  it 
has  been  accomplished.  Thank  God  and 
the  brave  peasants  of  Samogitia,  we  have 
passed  the  Niemen,  that  barrier  which 
separated  us  from  Poland,  and  in  a  few 
days,  I  hope,  we  shall  be  in  Warsaw." 

"  A  few  days  yet,"  repeated  Emily, 
casting  a  look  of  the  deepest  sadness  upon 
her  limbs,  which  were  bruised  and  torn  by 
a  long  journey  through  marshes  and  dense 
forests,  and  which  seemed  to  refuse  to  bear 
her  further.  The  train  of  sorrowful 
thoughts  which  was  passing  through  her 
mind  was  interrupted  by  a  sharp  and  pro- 
longed whistle,  and  a  peasant,  about  sixty 
years  of  age,  but  still  fresh  and  vigorous, 
was  seen  approaching. 

"  God  be  thanked,  my  children,"  said 


EMILY    PLATER.  253 

he  to  them,  I  am  somewhat  late,  but  it  has 
been  impossible  for  me  to  arrive  sooner. 
These  Russian  dogs  seized  me,  as  I  was 
coming  out  of  the  w^ood,  and  I  have  passed 
a  very  bad  quarter  of  an  hour  in  the  hands 
of  these  brigands.  They  were  a  long  time 
searching  me  and  asking  me  questions. 
Fortunately,  I  belong  to  the  country,  and 
am  well  known,  thank  God !  So  the 
Avhole  village  confirmed  my  statement, 
when  I  told  them  that  I  w^as  going  to  the 
neighboring  village  to  see  my  father-in- 
law,  Martin  the  blacksmith.  At  last  they 
let  me  go,  and  I  came  off  with  only  a  few^ 
blows,  w^hich  God,  in  his  own  good  time, 
will,  without  doubt,  return  to  them." 

"  The  infamous  villains !"  cried  Mary. 

''  In  the  mean  while  I  have  brought  you 
something  to  eat  and  I  am  very  sure  you 
must  have  great  need  of  it ;"  and  at  the 
same  time,  he  drew  from  his  wallet  a  black 
loaf,  half  bran,  a  piece  of  cheese,  hard  as  a 
stone,  and  a  small  bottle  of  brandy.  "  All 
this  is  not  w  orth  much ;  but  it  wall,  never- 

22 


254  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

theless,  serve  to  appease  hunger  in  some 
degree.  God  knows  I  feared  to  take  any 
thing  more,  for  fear  of  exciting  the  suspi- 
cion of  these  Russians." 

"  This  is  better  than  nothing,"  said 
Mary,  gayly,  and  she  began  to  eat  with 
apparent  appetite. 

"  What  news,  old  man  ?"  asked  Count 
Plater.  "  Can  we  soon  renew  our  march  V 

"  Impossible  yet,  my  good  sir  ;  the  coun- 
try is  full  of  Russians,  who  are  in  pursuit 
of  our  brave  Pouschet.  We  must  wait  until 
this  rabble  quits  the  country,  or  at  least 
until  sleep  closes  their  eyes,  so  that  you 
may  pass,  with  safety,  through  these  files 
of  Cossacks.  In  the  mean  while,  take 
some  rest ;  sleep,  and  I  will  awaken  you 
when  it  will  be  safe  for  you  to  commence 
your  journey." 

Emily  took  but  little  nourishment. 
For  several  days,  a  burning  fever  had  con- 
sumed her.  The  blood  boiled  in  her  veins, 
and  her  hot  breath  had  rendered  her  lij's 
parched.     Her  heavy  head  fell  back  upon 


EMILY    PLATER.  255 

her  shoulders,  and  she  felt  within  her  the 
germ  of  a  malady,  which  she  knew  would 
not  permit  her  to  pursue  her  projects,  and 
witness  the  accomplishment  of  her  beau- 
tiful dreams.  She  concealed,  in  the  mean 
while,  her  frightful  condition  from  the  un- 
fortunate companions  of  her  journey,  and 
passed  whole  nights  in  prayer  to  God  that 
he  would  grant  her,  at  least,  one  thing ; 
that  she  miglit  behold  Warsaw — might 
see  the  Polish  standard,  and  then  die. 
Long  before  daylight,  the  old  man  called 
up  our  pilgrims,  and  told  them  it  was  time 
to  set  out.  He  enjoined  on  them  the 
most  profound  silence,  and  recommended 
the  utmost  precaution  until  they  should 
liave  passed  the  Russian  camp,  along 
which  they  had  to  pass. 

The  young  people  followed  their 
guide  in  deep  silence,  hardly  venturing  to 
breathe.  Thanks  to  their  precautions  and 
the  darkness  of  the  night,  they  succeeded 
in  winding  round  the  camp  without  alarm- 
ing the  sentinels,  whose  calls  they  distinct- 


256  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

ly  heard.  Although  she  felt  her  illness 
increase  continually,  Emily  kept  up  her 
march,  repressing  with  the  greatest  care 
all  expression  of  pain.  Fever  was  con- 
suming her,  but  still,  notwithstanding  her 
lacerated  feet,  she  still  continued  to  ad- 
vance. The  strength  of  the  spirit  exceed- 
ed that  of  the  body.  Patriotism,  alone, 
helped  to  sustain  her,  but  at  last  she  was 
obliged  to  give  up.  All  at  once,  her  sight 
became  dim,  her  limbs  refused  to  per- 
form their  office  longer,  and  she  at  length 
fainted. 

"  Great  God!"  ejaculated  the  old  man. 
"  Take  up  your  brother,  my  children,  and 
carry  him  where  I  will  show  you ;  the 
Russians  will  not  seek  him  there." 

Mary  Kaszanovvicz  and  the  Count 
Plater  took  Emily  in  their  arms,  and  in 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  mournful 
train  stopped  before  the  door  of  a  miser- 
able looking  hut.  It  was  that  of  the  for- 
ester. 

During  this  unhappy  war  it  was  not  a 


EMILY    PLATER.  257 

rare  sight  to  see  insurgents  pursued  by 
the  Russians,  or  indeed  citizens  flying  be- 
fore persecution,  soliciting  shelter  from  the 
peasants,  which  was  always  most  eagerly 
granted. 

The  arrival,  therefore,  of  these  four 
persons  did  not  astonish  the  peaceable  in- 
habitants of  this  poor  cottage.  'The  old 
man  entered  first,  exchanged  a  few  words 
in  Savnogitian  with  the  forester  and  his 
wife,  who  instantly  arose  to  furnish  aid  to 
the  sick  one.  They  placed  the  cold  and 
pallid  body  of  Emily  upon  a  bed  and  cov- 
ered it  up  warmly,  and  sought  to  recall  it , 
to  life,  for  she  had  not  yet  recovered  her 
sensibility.  It  was  a  body  in  which  death 
and  life  were  sustaining  a  fierce  struggle 
for  the  mastery. 

''  Blessed  Jesus !"  exclaimed  the  for- 
ester's wife,  as  she  was  bathing  Emily's 
temples  with  brandy ;  so  young  and  already 
so  unfortunate !  Poor  child,  he  has  suf- 
fered much." 


22 


* 


258  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

"  May  the  curse  of  heaven  fall  upon 
the  Tzar,"  answered  the  peasants. 

All  at  once,  the  woman  raised  a  shriek, 
which  neither  Csesar  nor  Mary  understood 
the  reason  of. — In  her  efforts  to  reanimate 
Emily  she  had  discovered  her  sex,  and  the 
idea  immediately  occurred  to  her,  that  this 
person  could  be  no  other  than  the  Countess 
Emily  Plater,  who.se  exploits  she  had 
often  heard  praised.  Admiration  and 
astonishment  rendered  her,  for  a  moment, 
mute  and  motionless. 

She  stared,  in  mute  contemplation, 
upon  the  thin  and  pale  face  of  the  dying 
Emily.  She  took  her  husband  aside,  and 
communicated  to  him  the  curious  discovery 
which  she  had  made,  but  which  she  would 
not  make  known  to  any  other  individual 
so  long  as  Emily  lived. 

They  had  relinquished  all  hope  of 
restoring  her,  when  a  sudden  and  convul- 
sive chill  pervaded  her  frame.  She  then 
opened  her  eyes,  and  perceiving  herself  in 


EMILY    PLATER.  259 

a  hut,  surrounded  by  her  fellow  travellers, 
her  fainting  fit  in  the  forest  came  to  her 
recollection,  and  pressing  the  hand  of  her 
cousin,  said  to  him,  not  without  effort : 

"  My  strength  is  failing  me ;  I  feel  that 
death  is  not  far  distant.  Continue  your 
journey. — May  you  reach  Warsaw  in 
safety  ; — you  may  be  able  to  render,  there, 
some  service  to  our  country.  As  for  me, 
my  career  is  ended.  Grieve  no  more  for 
poor  Emily,  she  well  knows  how  to  die." 

Caesar  Plater,  alarmed  at  the  danger  of 
his  cousin,  whose  state  of  health  was  not 
yet  removed  from  danger,  and  not  wishing 
to  leave  her  in  the  cottage  of  the  forester, 
whose  extreme  poverty,  notwithstanding 
his  good  will  and  tenderness  of  feeling, 
W'ould  forbid  his  bestowing  upon  her  the 
extreme  care  which  her  situation  required, 
applied  to  the  proprietor  of  the  village, 
and  explaining  to  him  the  whole  mystery, 
entreated  him  to  lend  his  assistance  to  a 
dying  female,  exhausted  by  fatigue,  and 
whose  unbounded  and  exalted  devotedness 


260  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

to  the  Polish  cause,  had  placed  her  in  this 
situation. 

Citizen  A****  was  a  good  patriot, 
and,  above  all,  an  honest  man  ;  he  granted 
his  request  at  once,  and  the  poor  patient 
was  carried  to  his  house,  where  she  re- 
ceived medical  attendance,  and  the  most 
assiduous  and  tender  care.. 

Relieved  from  his  extreme  anxiety, 
with  respect  to  Emily,  Csesar  Plater 
resumed  his  journey,  and  in  a  short  time 
arrived  at  Warsaw.  We  cannot  help 
devoting  here  a  few  words  to  this  young 
hero  of  Poland,  who  himself  also  was  a 
remarkable  instance  of  self-devotion  to  his 
country,  and  who  sacrificed  every  thing  in 
her  service.  What  has  he  not  done  for 
Poland  1  And  what  would  he  not  have 
done  in  order  to  see  her  free  and  independ- 
ent ?  At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  forsook 
his  rank  and  fortune  to  place  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  peasants  whom  he  had 
excited  to  revolt,  and  furnished  with  arms. 
He  fought   as  long  as  the  contest  lasted, 


EMILY    PLATER.  261 

and  when  all  was  lost  in  Lithuania,  he 
repaired  to  Poland,  where  he  still  con- 
tinued to  fight,  being  always  found  in  front, 
where  duty  called  a  true  Pole.  Most 
faithful  in  every  duty,  and  devoted  to  the 
cause  he  had  espoused,  he  rendered  im- 
portant services  to  that  cause.  All  his 
property  has  been  confiscated,  and  he 
himself  proscribed.  But  all  this  does  not 
prevent  him  from  serving  his  country,  in 
being  useful  to  the  Polish  cause  in  France, 
where  he  has  sought  refuge.  The  small 
amount  he  has  saved  from  the  wreck  of  his 
fortune,  he  devotes  to  the  relief  of  those  of 
his  compatriots  who  are  more  unfortunate, 
even,  than  himself,  and  particularly  to  the 
education  of  the  young  emigrants,  whose 
means  are  insufficient  for  preparing  them, 
as  true  Poles,  to  bring  back  to  their  native 
country,  at  some  future  time,  those  arts 
and  sciences  which  the  Autocrat  has 
taken  so  much  pains  to  suppress. 

Mary    Raszanowicz,  sacrificing  glory 
to  friendship,  remained  near   the  bed  of 


262  LIKE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

sickness,  and  devoted  herself  day  and 
night  to  the  unremitted  care  of  her,  whose 
dangers  and  fatigues  she  had  for  so  long 
time  shared. 

Quietness,  and  the  skill  of  the  phy- 
sician, at  last  prevailed  in  saving  Emily 
ftom  the  jaws  of  death,  and  she  began  to 
recover  her  strength  in  this  hospitable 
mansion,  where  she  was  secreted  under 
the  name  of  Mademoiselle  Korawinska, 
and  constantly  treated  with  all  the  re- 
spect she  was  entitled  to,  by  her  birth, 
devotedness  and  misfortunes. 

Meanwhile,  the  state  of  affairs  in  Po- 
land were  taking  a  bad  turn.  Since  the 
battle  of  Ostrolenka,  Skrzynecki  was  re- 
maining in  a  state  of  the  most  unaccount- 
able inaction.  After  the  death  of  Die- 
bitsch,  Paskiewicz,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  the  command  of  the  Russian 
army,  had  effected,  without  any  molesta- 
tion, his  passage  over  the  Vistula. 

The  Poles,  whom  the  seeming  indiffer- 
ence of  their  general  in  chief  had  exas- 


EMILY    PLATER.  263 

perated,   and,    who,   probably,    were  too 
easily  inclined  to  believe  in  the  accusa- 
tions of  the  discontented,  deprived  him  of 
the    command,    without     well    knowing 
whom  to  appoint  in  his  place.     This  im- 
portant and  delicate  charge,  which  some 
refused,  while  others  exercised  it  for  a 
few  days  only,  at  last  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Krukowiecki,    an    ambitious   and  in- 
triguing man,  and  one  in  respect  to  whom 
the  Poles  ought  to  have   been   more  on 
their  guard  than  any  one  else  ;  the  previ- 
ous conduct  of  this  chief  having  been  far 
from  a  character  to  inspire  favor  and  con- 
fidence.    The  army,  which  this  continual 
change  of  commanders  had  actually  de- 
moralized, lost  all  sense  of  subordination  ; 
contradictory  orders  were  issued,  and,  of 
course,  badly   executed.     There  was    no 
longer  any  union,  or  plan  of  action,  and 
the  orders  issued  one  day,  were  counter- 
manded   the  next.     In   the  mean    while 
Paskiewicz   drew  near  to  Warsaw,  and 
whether   it    was    that  Krukowiecki  had 


264  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

already  sold  himself  to  the  Russians,  or 
Avhether  he  was  destitute  of  all  the  quali- 
ties of  a  general,  or  whether  the  indiffer- 
ence of  the  chiefs  had  paralyzed  the  cour- 
age of  the  army  ;  Warsaw  surrendered, 
in  pursuance  of  a  capitulation  between 
Krukowiecki  and  Paskiewicz.  After  the 
loss  of  the  capital,  the  army  was  by  no 
means  disposed  to  abandon  the  cause.  It 
wished  to  contend  as  long  as  there  was  an 
inch  of  Polish  ground  remaining.  But 
those  in  power  had  already  become  dis- 
couraged, and  depression  of  mind  succeed- 
ed to  patriotism.  They  lost  all  confi- 
dence in  their  cause,  discord  arose  among 
them,  their  minds  became  exasperated, 
they  began  to  negotiate,  and  in  conclu- 
sion, Rybinski.  who  had  been  lately  ap- 
pointed commander  in  chief  of  the  Polish 
army,  marched  the  troops  into  the  Prus- 
sian territory,  and  placed  them  under  the 
protection  of  King  William. 

Such    was  the  final  result  of  this  glo- 
rious    struggle,    which,    during    several 


EMILY    PLATER.  265 

months,  had  astonished  all  Europe,  and 
kept  it  in  suspense  between  hope  and  fear. 
The  nations  saw  on  one  side,  barbarity — 
hideous  barbarity,  with  its  hoards  of  brute 
and  submissive  savages,  who,  under  the 
fear  of  the  knout  and  the  cannon's  mouth 
were  compelled  to  encounter  death.  On 
the  other,  a  long  oppressed  and  suffering 
nation,  jealous  of  its  rights,  and  who  was 
desirous  of  reco veering  its  independence. 
A  mere  handful  of  brave  men  accomplish- 
ed all  that  courage  and  patriotism  could 
effect.  But  alas !  they  yielded,  because 
Europe  forsook  them  in  their  struggle, — 
heroic  struggle,  in  which  two  nations  ea- 
gerly fought  hand  to  hand  with  each  other, 
— bloody  and  glorious  struggle,  which  pre- 
served France  from  a  third  invasion,  and 
inflicted  a  deep,  and,  perhaps,  incurable 
wound  upon  the  Russian  colossus.  Had 
it  not  been  for  this  long  and  bloody  fight 
for  several  months,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Vistula,  and  under  the  walls  of  Warsaw, 
it  is  not   improbable  that  the  Russians 

23 


266  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

might  have  invaded  the  world,  and  ac- 
complished their  gigantic  project  of  uni- 
versal empire.*  Liberty  would  have  been 
suppressed  in  every  country  in  which  it 
is  a  constituent  element  in  the  happiness 
of  the  people.  Slavery  and  barbarity 
would  have  reigned  everywhere  supreme. 
Glory  to  my  country !  By  her  own  death 
she  has  been  the  salvation  of  the  world. 
All  these  events  closely  followed  each 
other,  and  becoming  known  to  the  citizens 
of  the  distant  provinces,  destroyed  their 
deeply  cherished  hopes.  This  sad  news 
was  kept  with  the  most  scrupulous  care 
from  the  knowledge  of  Emily,  in  the  ap- 
prehension that  it  would  produce  a  relapse 
which  might  prove  fatal.  But  all  precau- 
tion proved  fruitless.  The  overwhelming 
intelligence  of  the  Poles  having  sought 
refuge  in  Prussia  reached  her  ears,  and 
gave  her  the  fatal  blow.     Her  soul,  iden- 


*  A   very  extravagant  idea,  but  such  is  the  text. 
Translator. 


EMILY    PLATER.  267 

tified  with  the  existence  of  Poland,  refus- 
ed to  inhabit  longer  its  shattered  tene- 
ment, worn  out  by  fatigues  and  sufferings ; 
and  all  that  medical  skill  could  possibly 
effect,  was  to  prolong,  for  a  few  miserable 
days,  an  existence  which  had  become 
hateful  to  her,  since  she  had  learned  that 
Poland,  her  beloved  country,  had  been 
enslaved  again.  She  could  not  longer 
dwell  on  that  soil,  which  had,  once  more, 
fallen  into  the  possession  of  barbarians, 
who  would  overwhelm  its  enslaved  inhab- 
itants with  wo.  Her  heart  was  broken, 
and  her  noble  soul  disdained  an  existence 
which  henceforth  was  to  be  replete  with 
misery  and  suffering.  She  had  no  wish 
to  live  any  longer ;  all  her  ties  with  this 
world  were  rent  asunder,  and,  therefore, 
it  was  with  feelings  of  gladness  that  she 
saw  the  approach  of  death.  Hardly  any 
thing  in  the  world  could  have  induced  her 
to  sacrifice  the  freedom  of  her  own  dear 
Poland,  which)  in  her  own  imagination, 


268  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

she  had  so  long  considered  free  and  happy, 
but  now  trampled  under  the  feet  of  two 
hundred  thousand  Russians,  and,  like  her- 
self, breathing  her  last. 

Feeling  the  approach  of  her  last  hour, 
after  having  submitted  herself  to  God's 
holy  will,  and  received  the  last  consola- 
tions of  religion,  she  asked  for  her  arms. 
She  seized  them  with  a  feeble  grasp,  and 
a  burning  tear  escaped  from  her  eyelid. 
Her  look  seemed  for  a  moment  to  express 
regret.  Alas  !  all  she  regretted  and  wept 
for,  was  that  she  had  failed  in  saving  her 
country,  and  that  she  was  unable  to  serve 
that  country  longer.  Unwilling  to  be 
separated  from  her  arms,  she  requested 
that  they  might  be  placed  in  her  tomb ; 
and  in  the  very  act  of  pressing  them  close 
to  her  heart,  she  expired.  Her  last  breath 
was  a  supplication  to  the  Supreme  Being, 
that  lie  would  vouchsafe  to  take  under  his 
holy  protection  her  suffering  compatriots, 
who,  less  fortunate  than  herself,  remained 


EMILY    PLATER.  269 

exposed  to  the  vengeful  ire  of  their  tyrants, 
as  well  as  her  unhappy  country,  which 
Heaven  seemed  to  have  forsaken. 

Emily  Plater  expired  on  the  23d  day 
of  December,  1831. — Such  was  the  short 
but  glorious  career  of  this  heroic  female, 
who  in  the  twenty-sixth  year  of  her  age, 
fell   a  victim   to   the  misfortunes  of  her 
country.      Endowed    by   nature   with    a 
masculine  character  and  a  sanguine  tem- 
perament,  she   marked  out  for  herself  a 
lofty,  bold  and  poetic  destiny  ;  and  when 
the  fit  opportunity  for  realizing  her  youth- 
ful  dream  occurred,  she  did  not  shrink 
from   danger    and    fatigue,    but    always 
showed  herself  worthy  of  her  self-imposed 
mission.     Endowed  with  all  those  quali- 
ties, which  render  a  w^oman  almost  an  ob- 
ject of  adoration,  she  was  gentle,  benevo- 
lent, susceptible  of  the  enjoyment  of  friend- 
ship and  feelings  of  gratitude,  but  always 
a  perfect  stranger  to  the  emotions  of  love. 
When  she  lost  her  mother,  she  bestow- 
ed her  love  exclusively  upon  her  country. 

23* 


270  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

She  clung  to  Poland  with  all  the  passion- 
ate ardor  of  a  lover.  Poland  alone  was 
the  subject  of  her  dreams,  and  she  was 
ever  ready  to  sacrifice  her  happiness,  her 
own  opinions,  and  life  itself,  to  the  inde- 
pendence of  that  country  which  she  so 
passionately  loved. 

Having  adopted  Joan  d'Arc  for  her 
model, she  equalled  that  extraordinary  wo- 
man in  courage  and  devotedness;  the  only 
difference  between  them  is,  that  the  one 
met  with  success,  and  the  other  with  mis- 
fortune ;  and  yet  both  died  the  victims  of 
their  patriotism.  Religious  writers,  in 
speaking  of  Joan  d'Arc,  have  long  sought 
to  ascribe  to  a  miracle,  that  which  was 
purely  the  effect  of  religious  enthusiasm, 
and  entire  devotedness  to  the  cause  of  her 
country.  What  is  it  that  an  exalted  pat- 
riotism cannot  achieve  !  Wliat  is  it  that 
a  being,  even  naturally  so  weak,  is  not 
capable  of,  when  strongly  impressed  by 
noble  and  holy  motives!  Joan  d'Arc,  im- 
pelled by  her  religious  enthusiasm,  at  the 


EMILY    PLATER.  271 

sight  of  the  misfortunes  of  her  country, 
which  she  believed  herself  destined  to 
relieve,  flies  to  the  field.  On  the  other 
hand,  Emily  Plater,  unable  to  behold  any 
longer  the  sufferings  of  Poland  in  the 
chains  of  a  cruel  slavery,  calls  to  arms 
her  compatriots  as  soon  as  the  first  shout 
of  independence  is  heard.  They  are  two 
of  the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  beings 
the  annals  of  any  nation  can  offer.  Joan 
d'Arc  roused  Charles  VII.  from  his  effemi- 
nate pleasures,  and  placed  a  sword  in  his 
hands  to  reconquer  his  kingdom,  and  expel 
the  English  from  the  soil. 

Emily  Plater  electrified  her  compat- 
riots, whom  slavery  had  degraded.  She 
rekindled,  in  every  heart,  the  fire  of  patriot- 
ism and  devotedness.  Both  were  models, 
in  their  respective  countries,  wortliy  of 
imitation.  But  to  assist  the  efforts  of  Joan 
d'Arc,  the  French  had  a  well  appointed 
army  ;  whereas  the  Lithuanians  had  only 
a  fev^^  insurgents  from  the  peasantry,  bad- 
ly equipped,  and  almost  destitute  of  arms, 


272  LIFE    OF    THE    COUNTESS 

and  totally  unacquainted  with  the  use  of 
the  sword  or  musket.  It  was  not  the 
fault  of  Emily  Plater  if  we  had  no  Dunois 
or  La  Tremouilles  to  assist  her  in  her 
great  undertakings.  If  the  maid  of  Or- 
leans is,  to  this  day,  the  glory  and  pride 
of  France,  so  will  Emily  Plater  be  the 
glory  and  pride  of  Poland,  and  her  name 
will  descend  to  posterity,  blessed  by  the 
nation  she  has  endeavored  to  wrest  from 
barbarity  and  oppression,  and  the  admira- 
tion of  all  that  possesses  a  manly  heart. 
Joan  d'Arc  and  Emily  Plater  are  two  of 
the  most  resplendent  jewels  in  the  crown 
of  nations.  They  are  ornaments  of  hu- 
manity, and  the  nations  who  shall  produce 
such  persons  will  always  rank  among  the 
first  in  the  world.  Good  trees  alone  can 
produce  such  good  fruit. 

The  obsequies  of  Emily  Plater  were 
simple  and  mournful.  The  whole  country 
being  in  possession  of  the  despot,  how 
could  those  funeral  solemnities,  due  to  the 
heroine  of  our  liberty,  be  performed  !     No 


EMILY    PLATER.  273 

funeral  oration  was  pronounced  over  the 
grave.  She  was  privately  buried,  like  a 
precious  relic,  which  they  were  endeav- 
oring to  preserve  from  the  outrages  and 
profanations  of  impious  barbarians.  A 
wooden  cross  only  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  her  grave,  which  some  time  after  was 
covered  with  a  white  stone  slab,  until  the 
day  shall  arrive  when  her  grateful  coun- 
try, in  the  enjoyment  of  freedom  and  glory, 
will  be  permitted  to  raise  to  her  memory, 
a  monument  worthy  of  her  and  her  distin- 
guished services. 

The  only  epitaph  on  that  stone  is  the 
single  word, 

EMILIA. 


^0  tlje,inanoru  of  tl)e  Olountess 


What  is  a  woman's  weak,  delicate  form, 

But  a  flower  that  droops  beneath  every  etorm, — 

That  shrinks  as  the  chilly  breeze  wanders  by. 

And  if  tempests  arise  must  fade  and  die  ! 

Oh  !  let  her  be  placed  on  a  fairy  throne, 

To  be  flattered,  and  worshipped,  and  gazed  upon ; 

She  never  was  destined  to  view  the  strife, 

The  carnage,  the  toil  of  this  earthly  life  ; 

But  to  smile  and  charm  in  the  summer  hours, 

Basking  in  sunshine  like  other  sweet  flow'rs. 

Oh !  never  should  sorrow  its  dim  form  rear, 

To  stain  that  cheek  with  its  scalding  tear. 

For  the  radiant  light  of  those  sunny  eyes, 

Can  only  beam  under  cloudless  skies ; 

And  her  fairy  footsteps  may  only  fall 

In  a  bower  of  love,  or  the  banquet  hall. 

Such  woman  was  ever — and  still  must  be — 


276  EMILIA    PLATER. 

No:  Poland!  e'en  wowimi  can  change  for  thee: 

She  doth  not  shrink  from  the  scathing  storm, 

Tho'  fragile  and  weak  be  her  lovely  form; 

She  doth  not  desert  in  the  hour  of  need 

Her  Country,  her  friends,  but  with  them  will  bleed,- 

As  a  guardian  spirit  will  hover  around 

Where  artillery  thunders  and  trumpets  sound. 

And  oh  !  if  "  the  lion  will  turn  and  flee 

From  a  maid  in  the  pride  of  her  purity," 

What  demon  could  harm  e'en  a  single  hair 

Of  the  angel  forms  that  minister  there  ? 


©ouronne  Poetxqite* 


£L.E  OIE. 


Dors,  o  ma  Pologne,  dors  en  pais  dans  ce  qu'ils  appeUent  ta  tombe ;  moi, 

ie  sais  que  c'est  ton  berceau. 

J  ^  F.  DE  Lamennais. 


Passe  a  I'entour  de  moi,  passe,  Ifeger  fant6me  ; 
Qu'un  people  infortune  dans  son  exil  me  nomme, 

Mais  qu'il  me  nomme  avec  orgueil ! 
Salut-k  toi,  salut,  vierge,  auguste  heroine, 
Jeanne  d'Arc  de  la  France !  oh  !  quel  front  ne  s'incline 

Devantta  vie  et  ton  cercueil ! 

24 


278  EMILIE    PLATER. 

Ta  vie  !  elle  est  sublime  !  ah  !  que  ton  ame  ardente 
Devait  souffrir  de  voir  la  Pologne  mourante 

Et  par  les  rois  mise  en  lambeaux ! 
Ces  voraces  vautours,  avec  des  cris  de  joie, 
Se  I'etaient  partagee,  et  dormaient  sur  leur  proie 

Qui  reposait  dans  trois  tombeaux.* 


II. 

Mais  dans  ces  trois  tombeaux  courait  encor  la  vie. 

Le  cadavre  n'etait  point  mort; 
II  ne  saurait  mourir  le  feu  qui  vivifie ; 

Parfois  seulement  il  s'endort, 
Et  les  tyrans  alors  triomphent  par  le  glaive  : 

Le  peuple  esclave  souffre  et  sert. 
Mais  leur  regne  est  bien  court;  la  Liberte  se  leva 

Et  brise  leur  sceptre  de  fer. 
Oh  !  que  tu  dus  jouir,  quand  tu  vis  ta  patrie, 

Tout-2i-coup  ansi  se  levant, 
Comme  un  frele  roseau,  briser  la  tyrannie 

Q,ui  tremblait  sur  le  sol  mouvant ! 

•  La  Pologne  partagee  entre  la  Russie,  la  Prusse  et  I'Autriche, 


ELEGIE.  279 

Les  tombeaux  s'entr'ouvraient  comme  les  tentes  pleines 

D'un  camp  qui  s'eveille  au  matin  : 
Des  heroa  en  sortaient. — lis  couvrirent  les  plaines, 

Comme  des  cavales  sans  frein. 
lis  jeterent  au  monde  un  cri  d'independance 

Q,ue  voulaient-ils  ?  la  Liberie, 
Le  plus  beau  des  tresors. — Cinquante  ans  de  souffrance 

Le  leur  avaient  bien  merite. 
Au  milieu  de  leurs  rangs  tu  t'elancas  sans  crainte, 

Comme  un  chevalier  d'autrefois, 
Appelant  tout  un  peuple  k  la  liberte  sainte 

Et  par  I'exemple  et  par  la  voix. 
Q,ue  n'aurais-tu  pas  fait  pour  briser  les  entraves 

dui  sur  la  Pologne  pesaient, 
Pour  fouler  a  tes  pieds  ces  bataillons  d'esclaves 
Qui  sur  son  corps  sanglant  passaient  et  repassaient  ? 

III. 

Tu  combattis  long-teraps,  Heroine  inspiree  ! 
Mais,  helas !  la  patra  ises  tyrans  livree 

Redescendit  dans  son  cercueil. 
Ses  freres,  ees  amis,  qui  devaient  la  defendre, 
L'avaient  abandonnee,  et  nous  vimes  s'etendre 

Sur  elle  un  long  crepe  de  deuil. 


280 


EMILIE    PLATER. 


Elle  tomba. — Posant  leur  main  lourde  sur  elle, 
Ses  bourreaux,  satisfaits  dans  leur  rage  cruelle, 

L'ecrasent  sous  un  joug  pesant. 
Oh !  qui  jamais  souffrit  un  plus  cruel  martyrs  1 
Attachee  k  sa  croix,  elle  souffre,  elle  expire, 
Et  de  ses  flancs  ouverts  coulent  des  flots  de  sang. 


Mais,  par  ces  flots  de  sang,  bienfaisante  rosee, 
La  Pologne,  6  mon  Dieu !  sera  fertilisee ; 

Elle  enfantera  des  heros. 
Et,  comme  un  fier  lion  secouant  sa  criniere 
Elle  se  levera  puissante,  libre  et  fiere, 

Et  devorera  ses  bourreaux. 


J'en  jure  par  le  Cicl,  la  Pologne  qui  tombe, 
Comme  autrefois  le  Christ,  sortira  de  sa  tombe, 

Brillante  comme  un  glaive  ardent. 
Un  peuple  d'exiles  reverra  sa  patrie ; 
lis  fouleront  aux  pieds  I'ignoble  barbarie  ; 

lis  broiront  leurs  sous  la  dent. 


ELEGIE.  281 

IV. 

Et  toi,  Vierge  martyre,  alors  qu'apres  ton  reve 

De  patrie  et  de  liberie, 
Tu  vis  cette  patrie  expirer  sous  le  glaive  ; 

Q,uand  son  cadavre  ensanglante 
Fut  remis  dans  la  tombe  et  scelle  sous  la  pierre, 

Ah  !  que  ton  grand  coeur  fut  brise  ! 
Comme  autrefois  celui  de  Marie  au  Calvaire, 

De  sept  glaives  il  fut  perce. 
Tu  t'offris  au  Seigneur  toi-meme  en  sacrifice. 

Comme  la  fille  de  Jephte ; 
Et  tu  cherchas  au  ciel,  sejour  de  la  justice, 

La  patrie  et  la  liberte. 
La  pairie !  ***  elle  soufFre ;  innocente  victime, 

Vers  le  Ciel  elle  tend  les  bras, 
Elle  pleure,  elle  prie  *** — et  son  tyran  I'opprime, 

Et  le  Ciel  ne  I'ecoute  pas  ! 
Et  dans  ses  champs  deserts  que  couvrent  les  mines, 

L'etranger  insulte  k  ses  maux! 
Elle  porte  a  son  front  la  couronne  d'epines, 

Sa  chaste  robe  est  en  lambeaux, 
Son  sein  est  lacere,  son  sang  a  flots  ruisselle 

Et  se  mele  aux  pleurs  des  martyrs. 
O  vierge,  dans  le  ciel  invoque  Dieu  pour  elle  ! 

Offre  son  sang  et  ses  soupirs 

24* 


282  EMILIE    PLATER. 

Audieu  des  opprimes,  au  dieu  de  1' innocence ! 

Que  I'aube  perce  enfin  la  nuit, 
Entrainant  sur  ses  pas  le  jour  de  la  vengeance 

Et  la  liberte  qui  la  fuit ! 
Que  I'etoile  s'eleve  et  plus  grande  et  plus  belle  ! 

Qu'elle  brille  aux  y eux  des  mortels  ! 
Que  ta  Pologne,  6  toi,  Vierge  morte  pour  elle, 

Puisse  t'elever  des  autels  ! 


DUE  mkmM  PLMEi.« 

Es  giebt  ein  gut,  wer'  s  einmahl  hat  geschraecket 
Der  weiss  von  keinem  lieblichern  mehr  dann ; 
Verlieren  kann  all  andres  er  j  doch  strecket 
Ein  feind  die  hand  nach  diesem  gut  hinan  ; 
So  wird  zum  zorn  selbst  sanftmuth  aufgeschrecket, 
Das  milde  weib  wird  hochempoert  zum  mann. 
O  freiheit,  nimmermehr  kann  dich  vergessen, 
Du  euesses  gut,  wer  einmahl  dich  besessen. 

Nach  langen  naechten  war  es  lag  geworden, 
Es  fiohen  vor  dem  neuen,  ros'  gen  Licht 
Zurueck  die  finsternissgebornen  horden, 
Und  freie  sahen  frei'  n  ins  angesicht. 
Doch  wieder  draengt  die  alte  nacht  aus  norden, 
Sie  goennt  den  neuen  schoenen  tag  dir  nicht. 
Dem  theuren  gut  will  jedes  herz  sich  weihen, 
Auch  eine  jungfrau  eilt  mit  in  die  reihen. 


284  DIE    GRAEFIN    PLATER. 

Den  wie  Johanna,  als  das  land  der  Franken 
Von  fremder  schaar  mit  untergann  bedroht, 
Begelstert  eintrat  in  die  blut'  gen  schranken, 
Bis  nicht  die  bringer  mehr  unwuerd'  ger  noth 
Aus  der  Loire  schoenen  fluthen  tranken : 
So  trieb  des  geistes  stuermieches  gebot 
Die  hohe  jungfrau  in  den  laerm  der  schlachten, 
Und  liess  sie  nicht  der  zarten  srlieder  achten. 


Jhr  gold  hat  sie  dem  vaterland  geschicket, 

Mit  rauhem  zelt  vertauscht  ihr  gracflich  schloss  ; 

Und  wo  der  tod  die  reihen  wild  durchzuecket, 

Da  tummelt  auch  die  jungfrau  kuehn  ihr  rose. 

Und  manche  tapfre  that  ist  ihr  gegluecket, 

Oft  floh  vor  frauenschwerd  der  feinde  tross ; 

Nur  dann  erst  legte  sie  das  schlachtschwerdt  nicder, 

Als  rings  das  schoene  licht  verdraenget  wieder. 


Du  hohe  maid  im  kriegerischer  kleide  ! 
Mit  Saragossa's  heldenmaedchen  hast, 
Und  mit  Johanna  du  ein  gleich  geschmeide, 
Viel  edler,  als  des  golds,  der  perlen  last. 


DIE  GRAEFIN  PLATER.       285 

Weint  nun  dein  freies  herz  im  tiesen  leide, 
Weil  deiner  heimath  noth  dich  Bchraerzlich  fasst ; 
So  denk' :  noch  muesste  Polens  morgen  tagen, 
Wenn,  deinem  gleich,  jedwedea  herz  geschlagen  ! 


Nur  eines  moegst  du  nimmermehr  dir  sagen, 
Selbst  das  zu  denken,  waere  gar  zu  graus  ! 
Die  geister  derer,  die  im  feld  erschlagen, 
Sie  muessten  aus  der  Btillen  gruft  heraus, 
Und  rastlos  angst,  gewissensqualen  tragen 
Um  mitternacht  in  des  verruchten  haus, 
Wenn  —  o,  nur  der  nicht  von  den  freveln  alien  !  — 
Wenn  Polen Polen  durch  v  e  r  r  a  t  h  gefallen. 


Sulla  itomba 


DI 


EMHE^HA  FILA^MIEo 


Sonctto. 

Dal'  bianco  sasso  che  il  gran  cener  serra 
Dell'  augusta  virago  Liliiana, 
Voce  suond  che  andra  di  terra  in  terra, 
E  luor  del  Tempo  viver  k  lontana. 

Tiscuoti,  0  Europa,  a  fulminar  la  guerra 
Contro  la  turba  de'  tiranni  insana, 
Ch'or  piega  al  giogo,  or  con  la  scure  atterra, 
Q,uasi  vil  gregge  la  famiglia  umana ! 

Ti  scuoti,  o  Europa,  ed  al  mio  amor  t'accendi ! 
E  patrio  amor  c'ha  sempiterno'I  volo, 
Ed  ha  favilla  di  superna  face. 

Ti  scuoti,  o  Europa,  e  da  una  donn  apprcndi, 
Che  Patria  e  Libcrtade  d  un  nome  solo**** 
E  il  sonno  e  vituperio,  e  non  6  Pace  ! 


THE    END. 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17  •   Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library  from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


iiiiinninrflimH,"^'^'^'^^'-  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A  A      000  305  717 


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